Former Queensland coach and player Mal Meninga has decided on the players he would choose to replace the injured duo of Tom Gilbert and Jai Arrow.
Now the current Australian Kangaroos head coach, Meninga revealed he would recall Felise Kaufusi and Kurt Capewell back into the Maroons set-up.
โI think Felise Kaufusi will come into the squad, no doubt,โ Meninga toldย SENQ Mornings.
โHe's got enough experience, he's done it before and he'll do it again, he'll come up for it, he's a very experienced campaigner.
โ(He's a) great player, he's good to be around, tough as nuts, he'll be fine.โ
Having played 14 Origin games for Queensland previously, Kaufusi was a near certainty to appear in Game 1, however, he was slapped with a three-game suspension the week before squads were selected, ruling him out of the game.
After deciding on Kaufusi to replace Tom Gilbert in the starting team, Meninga discussed a variety of players that could be selected to come off the bench before deciding upon Kurt Capewell.
โWe've got some good bragging rights at the moment with our depth, any of one of them, Christian Welch was there (for Game I), so you'd think he'd have the inside running,โ Meninga added.
โMoe Fotuaika has been good, Kurt Capewell would be a big inโฆ our depth is enormous, the good thing about it is they're all good players and they fit the Origin mould, in character and being really good Queenslanders.
โMaybe you pick a specialised edge player on the bench like Capewell, who's playing really good footy for the Broncos, he's been there and done that before."
โHis versatility I think will come into play here.โ
The Broncos back-rower was controversially overlooked in Game 1. With seven games to his name, Capewell not only offers experience but versatility.
After the previous game saw Ben Hunt and David Fifita move into the centres due to injuries that occurred during the match, Capewell's versatility might gift him the upper hand on other contenders.
