Broncos coach Kevin Walters has backed Kotoni Staggs to put his hand up to earn a Blues recall to fill their vacant centre spot with a big performance against the Sharks.
Staggs returns to the Brisbane lineup for this Saturday night’s game at Suncorp Stadium after missing the upset Indigenous Round loss to the Titans in Round 14 with a fractured rib.
“The doors are open again for both teams I feel, everyone needs to keep pushing and playing hard for their respective clubs; it could earn them a jersey for Origin Two,” Walters said.
“Kotoni I'm sure was in the mix for Game One … probably with his (rib injury) he was not really in contention, but he's back now and he's ready to go, so he'd be a good option for them if that's the way they want to go.
“We love our players being involved in Origin, whether it's for Queensland or New South Wales, we love them being involved in that arena. They learn, they get better as players from being around better players, so we're all for it.”
While the four-week suspension of Joseph-Aukuso Sua'ali'i for a reckless high tackle on Reece Walsh has opened the door for Staggs to return for the Blues, the star fullback will miss the next two games for the Broncos after entering the game’s concussion protocols.
The Broncos have named Tristan Sailor to fill in for the game against Cronulla after he made an earlier than expected return from ankle surgery.
“Tristan has been magnificent with his attention to detail around his recovery and rehab – he's been in here seven days a week for the last three weeks getting it right,” Walters said.
“So hats off to Tristan because it’s come at a really good time with what’s happened to Walshy.
“He’s shown real professionalism post operation to get back on the field and running, it’s great.”
All of Brisbane’s remaining Origin contingent of Selwyn Cobbo, Pat Carrigan and Payne Haas have been named to back up for this weekend’s game, as well as Queensland extended squad members Brendan Piakura and Ezra Mam, who has been named at five-eighth for his 50th NRL game.
Xavier Willison will miss the game due to the birth of his first child and will be replaced by Fletcher Baker.
With both teams coming into the game with losses, Walters wanted to see his side make improvements from their performance against the Gold Coast, disappointed with how the side defended against the Titans.
“Big thing with our defence, obviously, that was a bit sloppy against the Titans,” Walters said.
“A couple of things around our detail in defence and how we defend – we moved away a bit from what we like to do here as a club, so that's just been reinforced over the last couple of weeks and we'll see the results of that reinforcement tomorrow night.
“We're always looking at ourselves and that wasn't up to our standards.
“We have got an opportunity tomorrow night to go out and start setting the bar where we need the bar to be set.
“They're sitting second, we're sitting fifth, so it should be a great contest.”
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