SEN’s Andrew Voss believes Queensland coach Billy Slater mustn’t make wholesale changes to his squad despite going down 44-12 in State of Origin II on Sunday night.
With the series all square at 1-1 heading into a decider, Voss cautioned Slater into not axing several players from his squad given how far into the campaign the Maroons find themselves in.
While making seven changes between Game I and II paid dividends for the Blues, Voss believes Slater should focus on getting the best out of his side who produced for him in the series opener.
“To make changes you want to be fairly confident you’ll go a lot better instead of just getting a reaction,” Voss said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“If those are the players who did the job in Game I, I do think he has to stick.
“Certainly, in the key positions, he’s got the two best hookers he can possibly have in Hunt and Grant.
“You’re scratching your head to see if any forwards could go better, but I think he’ll work within the 22 he had last night and go no further than that.
“I don’t think now is the time for seven changes going into a decider with one last camp.”
On the other end of the scale, New South Wales will go in favourites for Game III after dominating in Perth.
While one would expect a similar team to be selected for the decider, Voss believes the Blues’ extraordinary squad depth could see them take Game III with a few fresh names that could possibly even better the current squad.
“I’ll throw another name in and he’s never played Origin before in Ryan Papenhuyzen,” Voss said.
“He would’ve slain it last night, can you imagine once New South Wales got on the front foot if he was thrown into a role around the middle last night? He would’ve killed it as well.
“That is a great contrast, they’re not light on for players are they? Jack Wighton a Dally M medallist and Clive Churchill medallist, Latrell Mitchell (is a star) and Papenhuyzen has also been man of the match in a Grand Final.
“It’s a wealth of riches for New South Wales.”
State of Origin III is set for Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday June 13.
Squads for both states will be picked next week in the lead-up to the big clash.