Queensland State of Origin coach Billy Slater has confirmed that neither Tom Gilbert nor Jai Arrow will be available for game two, after the Maroons forwards suffered shoulder and ankle injuries respectively.
Gilbert dislocated a shoulder in the first half of the Origin opener, won by Queensland 26-18 in Adelaide last Wednesday, while Arrow picked up an ankle injury during the second half of the Rabbitohs’ clash with the Titans on the Gold Coast on Saturday.
New South Wales has also been burdened by injury concerns with halfback Nathan Cleary being ruled out of game two due to his hamstring tear and back-rower Cameron Murray dealing with a groin issue.
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Slater stressed the importance of Gilbert and Arrow to Queensland as he unpacked his camp’s injury problems on Nine’s The Billy Slater Podcast.
“They won’t be available for game two. That’s a big blow for us because they’re an integral part of the Queensland State of Origin team. They were last year and they have been for game one this year,” Slater said.
“I know there’s a whole heap of stories and headlines around Nathan Cleary, but these two guys are just as important to us as a Nathan Cleary and Cameron Murray is for NSW.
“We’ve got our concerns and we’re going to have to fill their void.
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“Sometimes you think of a team environment and some people are more important than others — not in our team.
“These two guys have been really important for us over the last two series and whoever jumps into their spot have got some big shoes to fill.”
As Gilbert writhed in pain after dislocating his shoulder at Adelaide Oval, the Dolphins enforcer got tangled up in an interchange blunder.
Gilbert’s replacement, front-rower Lindsay Collins, dashed onto the field when his teammate was still on, briefly leaving the Maroons with 14 men on the paddock.
Referee Ashley Klein penalised the Maroons and the NRL acted further, slapping Queensland Rugby League with a $30,000 fine.
Slater blamed himself for the bungle.
“That was me, that was my fault,” he admitted with a laugh.
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“Tom Gilbert dislocated his shoulder, his shoulder popped out, and we saw him running horizontal to the field, he was running off the other side. So straight away we told Lindsay Collins to get up off the bench and go on the field. Just before he got off, about half a metre before got off, he stopped and spoke to the trainer. We assumed he went off the field, we took our eyes off him and we were more focused on the game, because they were attacking our try line and we only had 12 men in the defensive line, so we were rushing Lindsay Collins to get on.”
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Slater said it was an “honest mistake” and argued the heaviest penalty the Maroons received was the one dealt by the referee, not the $30,000 fine.
The mix-up gifted the Blues a fresh set of six deep in Maroons territory, although NSW failed to turn the golden opportunity into points as Murray Taulagi produced a phenomenal try-saving tackle on James Tedesco.
“I think the biggest penalty we got was we got the ball taken off us and NSW got a penalty and were attacking our try line … so it changed the momentum of the position we put ourselves in,” Slater said.
“But there’s no complaining from us. That was a decision that I made and I got that one wrong.”
Queensland will aim to win the series and retain the shield at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on June 21.
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