Patrick Carrigan

Much has been made of the heavy injury toll Michael Maguire’s team has faced this season. Phil Gould isn’t buying it.

Brisbane’s horror slide continued when the Knights won 30-6 on Saturday night at Suncorp Stadium.

The Cowboys held on to win 18-10 and kill off any remaining hope the Broncos had of making an improbable late-season charge to the finals.

Darius Boyd has gone in to bat for Michael Maguire as the Brisbane coach fights to keep his team’s title defence alive.

Patrick Carrigan has made a lightning-quick recovery from ankle surgery to be named in a 20-man Queensland squad for the State of Origin decider.

Laurie Daley and Billy Slater both have a big weekend ahead, with some massive headaches emerging ahead of selection for Origin II.

Brisbane’s dire form will be highlighted when Billy Slater unveils his Queensland team for the second State of Origin game.

Brisbane suffered a shock defeat to the bottom-placed St George Illawarra on Sunday and lost gun middle forward Patrick Carrigan in the process.

Patrick Carrigan and Alofiana Khan-Pereira were both sin-binned in a drama-filled game dominated by the Warriors.

Michael Maguire refused to use the club's injury toll as a reason behind his side's disappointing performance against the Sea Eagles.