Why Meninga believes Gagai is a chance to be promoted to Queensland’s Game II bench

Former Queensland Maroons coach Mal Meninga has admitted that veteran back Dane Gagai is a chance to be catapulted from 18th man onto the bench ahead of a potential series-clinching Game II.

Maroons coach Billy Slater made the shock call to dop Selwyn Cobbo from his Game II side after playing a starring role in the series opener, opting for Kurt Capewell on the bench and Dane Gagai as a backup option in jersey number 18.

Gagai, who hasn’t played for the Maroons since 2022, has had a storied Origin career and famously became the first winger to win player of the series in the 2018 event.

His inclusion came as a shock to many but his position as 18th man caused even more surprise due to Queensland’s success in Game I carrying a versatile back on the bench.

Consequently, Meninga revealed why he believes Gagai could be moved onto the bench in favour of Capewell who does have limited experience playing in the centres.

“I reckon there's a chance of that (Gagai being in the 17-man squad), there’s every chance of that,” Meninga said on SEN 1170 The Throwdown.

“When you look at Game I, you look the player workload, some of the edge backrowers, this is not taking into account Reece (Walsh) being knocked out… the edge backrowers on both sides were under pressure and played a lot of minutes, and came up with a few missed tackles.

“So, I’m also thinking that from a bench point of view, getting more value out of your bench, I think you rest your 11 and 12 at some stage during the game as well and put some fresh bodies on, I think that’s really important when it comes to your defensive systems.”

Cobbo played for 73 minutes in Game I and finished with 167 run metres to go along with one line break and two line break assists.

“The other thing I think the selectors probably are doing, if anything happens to a Queenslander, if they get a couple of HIAs particularly out wide, well Dane is on the bench at 18, so even throughout the game there’s a chance,” Meninga added.

“It happened in Game I, we seen (Felise) Kaufusi come on and played a number of minutes, and did really well setting up the middle.

“The same could happen for Dane Gagai, I feel that’s two reason why they’ve gone with the team they have.

“I still believe that carrying an outside back that can move into the backrow is probably a better option than the other way around.”

The Maroons will look to close out the series for a third-straight year when State of Origin heads to Melbourne for Game II on the 26th of June.