'Great choice': Billy Slater tipped to hand Origin debut to young Queenslander
Calls are growing louder for Max Plath to be handed his State of Origin debut by Queensland coach Billy Slater this year, with Corey Parker the latest to throw his support behind the versatile Dolphins forward. Plath was the Dolphins' player of the year in 2024 and has carried his impressive form into this season, with teammate and Maroons stalwart Felise Kaufusi touting him as a "smoky" for Origin selection.
Plath's importance to the Dolphins was illustrated by his recent one-year contract extension that will keep him at the club until the end of the 2028 season. The 23-year-old's tireless workrate and ability to play on an edge, at lock or out of dummy half would make him a handy player for Slater's Maroons and Kaufusi reckons his teammate is ready for a maiden rep call-up.
"I actually think he's a smoky (for Maroons selection), you heard it here first," Kaufusi said about Plath this week. "The way he plays, the way Origin is, he's someone you can trust and someone you'll pick in your side straight away. He reminds me a bit of a Tom Gilbert. You want those guys playing with you and they're often the first picked in the sides."
Broncos great Parker - who played 19 games for the Maroons and knows what it means to represent Queensland on the biggest stage - is also a huge fan of Plath's and believes his game is tailor-made for Origin. "He's a great choice," Parker said on SEN radio. "One of his greatest strengths Max Plath is that he just competes.
He has a red-hot crack... and the biggest games in rugby league, if you are competing your absolute arse off you're going to be there when it counts. And for Max Plath that is his DNA and that's what we see week in, week out... there's still a lot of footy to be played, there could be injuries, suspensions and the like... (but) I wouldn't have an issue at all if Max Plath went into a Queensland jersey."
Slater's Queensland forward pack could have a much different look about it in 2024 compared to last year when the Blues' big men dominated them on the way to a 2-1 series win. As well as Plath's potential inclusion, Tino Fa'asuamaleaui will almost certainly walk back into the side after missing just about all of last season with an ACL injury. The Titans skipper looked back to his menacing best in his long-awaited comeback against the Bulldogs on Sunday.
Another forward putting up an irresistible case to earn a Maroons recall is Canberra enforcer Corey Horsburgh, who's started the season like a man on a mission. 'Big Red' has admitted it's his goal to play Origin again after a solitary appearance in 2023 and Raiders coach Ricky Stuart predicted that he would do just that after impressing in the off-season.
Horsburgh says he gave up the booze and got himself fit after a lacklustre 2024, and the 27-year-old is already seeing the fruits of his hard work. The Raiders prop was a standout in last week's shock thumping of the Broncos - where he ran for 132 run metres and produced a brilliant try assist - and Slater admits he's been impressed with what he's seen so far.
"We saw a couple of years ago he was capable of it," the Queensland coach said on Nine's The Billy Slater podcast. "It just shows you when you commit yourself and you get yourself nice and fit, what you can actually do." Horsburgh helped lay the platform for Canberra's impressive win against Brisbane after playing the first 52 minutes without a break and combining with veteran Josh Papalii to get the better of the Broncos' star-studded forward pack, led by Payne Haas and Patrick Carrigan.
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"I thought they were fantastic, they actually complemented each other," Slater said about the Raiders props. "Off the first set of six, the Broncos kicked off and they both had carries in that first set and that was noticeable and that set the standard for not only their team but it set the standard for them and they went on to be two of the best players in the game...
"And Corey Horsburgh, he played huge minutes... we know he can do that and he's given himself a chance to play his best football because of the work he's put in in the off-season. My coach (Craig Bellamy) always said, it's hard to have a good season when you don't have a good off-season.
"It doesn't guarantee you a good season if you have a good pre-season but it certainly sets you up, it certainly gives you an opportunity. And you can see Big Red, he's given himself a great opportunity to have a good season because of the work he's put in before March."
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