The Queensland Maroons find themselves in a selection predicament over the halfback position following Tom Dearden’s injury.
Dearden is likely to miss most of the State of Origin series after suffering a syndesmosis injury to his ankle while in action for the Cowboys against Parramatta on Friday night.
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He played out the game but it’s been confirmed he will undergo surgery and will be sidelined for six to eight weeks.
That means he will miss Origin I on May 27, and is in danger of missing the entire series.
The second game takes place on June 17 with Game 3 on July 8.
Dearden won the Wally Lewis Medal as player of the series last year and it would be a huge blow for Queensland if he was to miss any of the Origin series, especially given his likely halves partner Cameron Munster is out of form.
Attention has turned to who will replace Dearden in Queensland’s No. 7 jersey.
Roosters playmaker Sam Walker is a leading option, as is his Roosters teammate Daly Cherry-Evans.
Warriors halfback Tanah Boyd, Broncos star Ezra Mam and veteran half Jamal Fogarty are other contenders to make their Origin debut.
NSW Blues legend Andrew Johns believe Walker is the frontrunner to fill in for Dearden, declaring on Nine’s Sunday Footy Show: “It’s his time, Sammy Walker”.
“His style of play at Origin level, especially with the quicker ruck this year you’ve got to be unpredictable. Set plays don’t necessarily work at Origin, so I’d go Sammy.”
Brad Fittler tipped Cherry-Evans to be recalled for Queensland after being dropped by coach Billy Slater following last year’s loss in the series opener.
Another option is to move Kalyn Ponga into five-eighth and shuffle Munster to halfback.
It comes as Code Sports reports the Maroons are considering a selection shake-up with as many as eight players from last year’s series set to miss out.
Dearden, Xavier Coates and Jeremiah Nanai are injured, while Gehamat Shibasaki, Valentine Holmes, Trent Loiero and Kurt Mann are down on form and likely to be overlooked.
Josh Papali’i is retired from Origin and Murray Taulagi is dealing with concussion.
