{"id":296846,"date":"2023-05-15T12:31:56","date_gmt":"2023-05-15T12:31:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=296846"},"modified":"2023-05-15T14:59:02","modified_gmt":"2023-05-15T14:59:02","slug":"maroons-great-benches-star-in-origin-team-reveal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=296846","title":{"rendered":"Maroons great benches star in Origin team reveal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Queensland<\/a> great Paul Vautin has sprung a number of surprises in his Maroons State of Origin<\/a> team, picking a debutant in the starting side while benching one of the game's biggest names.<\/p>\n

Vautin, who famously coached the Maroons to a 3-0 upset victory in 1995, opted for Broncos superstar Reece Walsh<\/a> at fullback ahead of Kalyn Ponga<\/a> who starred for the Knights on Sunday.<\/p>\n

The premiership winner explained Walsh's case for selection was simply too irresistible.\ufeff<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Gal axes seven players, leaves Turbo out of NSW team<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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"Controversy is the number one straight up, I'm going for Reece Walsh, \ufeffI think he's played his way into the Queensland team," he said on Nine's 100% Footy<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"BRISBANE,<\/p>\n

"Kalyn Ponga's obviously been out … played well for Newcastle (on Sunday) but I think Reece Walsh has added a dimension to the Brisbane team and he can do the same to Queensland.<\/p>\n

"He's rock solid, he was in the camp last year so he knows a bit about it."<\/p>\n

Vautin kept a similar backline to last year with Selwyn Cobbo, Valentine Holmes, Dane Gagai and Xavier Coates all featuring.<\/p>\n

Stream the NRL premiership 2023 live and free on<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Cameron Munster will return to five-eighth in his side after Tom Dearden stepped in for Game III while the star was ruled out with COVID-19. Daly Cherry-Evans is halfback and captain with Vautin stating the 34-year-old "is almost carrying Manly on his back". \ufeff<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The forward pack remains virtually the same from Game I last year with Patrick Carrigan at lock.<\/p>\n

On the bench, Vautin brought Thomas Flegler back into the side – who hasn't played since 2021 – along with Harry Grant, Lindsay Collins and a surprise inclusion.<\/p>\n

"This is a little bit different but I would pick Kalyn Ponga \ufeffon the bench as a utility, I'm sure at the back end of each half if he came on and played in the forwards, or somewhere, he can make a difference," he said.<\/p>\n

"Forwards win Origins, we know that, \ufeffbut I think I'd mix it up."<\/p>\n

Jai Arrow was selected as 18th man.<\/p>\n

\"Freddy<\/p>\n

With the Maroons spoilt for depth in the middle of the park, Melbourne captain Christian Welch and Raiders firebrand Corey Horsburgh have found themselves without a spot in Vautin's team along with workhorses Tom Gilbert and Reuben Cotter.<\/p>\n

100% Footy is now available as a podcast! Subscribe\/follow via<\/strong><\/em> Apple<\/strong><\/em><\/a>,<\/strong><\/em> Spotify<\/strong><\/em><\/a> or<\/strong><\/em> Google Podcasts<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Many believe David Fifita – who has turned his form around significantly this season – is a strong chance to play Origin this year too but Vautin couldn't find a spot for him either\ufeff.<\/p>\n

Paul 'Fatty' Vautin's State of Origin side:<\/strong> \ufeff<\/p>\n

1\ufeff<\/strong>. Reece Walsh 2<\/strong>. Selwyn Cobbo 3<\/strong>. Valentine Holmes 4<\/strong>. Dane Gagai 5<\/strong>. Xavier Coates 6<\/strong>. Cameron Munster 7<\/strong>. Daly Cherry-Evans 8<\/strong>. Tino Fa'asuamaleaui 9<\/strong>. Ben Hunt 10<\/strong>. Josh Papali'i 11<\/strong>. Kurt Capewell 12<\/strong>. Felise Kaufusi 13<\/strong>. Patrick Carrigan 14<\/strong>. Harry Grant 15<\/strong>. Lindsay Collins 16<\/strong>. Thomas Flegler 17<\/strong>. Kalyn Ponga (18th man<\/em>) Jai Arrow<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Queensland great Paul Vautin has sprung a number of surprises in his Maroons State of Origin team, picking a debutant in the starting side while […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":296849,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296846"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=296846"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296846\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":296854,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296846\/revisions\/296854"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/296849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=296846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=296846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=296846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}