Criticism of Selection Decisions in State of Origin 1
NRL commentator Justin Horo has raised questions about why Reece Walsh wasn’t included on the Queensland bench during the first match of the State of Origin series. This decision came under scrutiny after Billy Slater’s strategy backfired when Kalyn Ponga was sent off, leading to a dramatic shift in the game’s momentum.
Ponga’s dismissal with 22 minutes remaining on Wednesday night allowed New South Wales to make a comeback from a 20-6 deficit, ultimately winning 22-20. Slater made several changes to his lineup, including shifting Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow to fullback and moving second-rower Kurt Capewell to the centres.
Slater had the option of bringing on Gehamat Shibasaki to play his preferred position at left centre, but instead chose Trent Loiero to play in the middle and moved Capewell out wider. This decision proved costly as Kotoni Staggs caused significant damage down the Maroons’ left edge, with Capewell missing 10 tackles and appearing out of place in the centre role.
The move sparked immediate criticism from NRL fans, who questioned why Slater did not use Shibasaki and also pointed out how the decision not to include Walsh affected the outcome of the game. Walsh would have been a perfect replacement for Ponga at fullback, allowing Tabuai-Fidow to remain at centre.
“I think there’s got to be scrutiny about Billy Slater not selecting Reece Walsh now,” Horo said on SEN radio. “Imagine if he has Reece Walsh instead of Shibasaki or Ezra (Mam) on the bench? And then you don’t change your edges because Kurt Capewell stays at edge and in the middle of the field. You can’t tell me honestly, you would not have preferred Reece Walsh to come on the field with 20 minutes to go on that game, please. I think Reece Walsh changes the dynamic (and) the look of the final 20 minutes.”
However, co-commentator Jimmy Smith disagreed, stating: “I had Reece Walsh in the side at fullback ahead of Kalyn Ponga. But that game at that time was not for Reece Walsh.”
Potential Recall for Origin 2
Despite the criticism, Billy Slater has not ruled out the possibility of recalling Reece Walsh for the second State of Origin match. Walsh’s chances of a return were initially damaged when Ponga avoided suspension for his hit on Tolu Koula. However, Slater remains open to the idea of including him in the squad.
“There’s a lot of ifs… we’ll just put one foot in front of the other,” Slater said. “We’ll pick ourselves up… We had five guys debut for Queensland tonight, they didn’t get the feeling that they wanted in the dressing room. Hopefully we can give them that in the future. The heart and spirit that they fought with – with 12 men – they fought hard. This is the journey we’ve been put on. These are the cards we’ve been dealt, and we’ll be playing our hand.”
