Arrow on verge of Maroons Origin call-up
Emerging Gold Coast gun Jai Arrow has a chance to seal a Queensland State of Origin debut when he faces off against his nearest rival for the Maroons No.13 jumper - Josh Papalii.
Arrow and enforcer Papalii are shaping up for a head-to-head battle when the Titans clash with Canberra on Saturday afternoon at GIO Stadium.
The 22-year-old former Brisbane player has come from the clouds to go from a bench player to Origin contender in just two months.
Joining the Titans because of a lack of opportunities at the Broncos, Arrow has not only established himself as a bona fide first-grader, he's arguably Queensland's form forward of the competition.
Arrow has averaged 153 running metres in 2018 - the most of any Queensland-eligible forward and the third most of any forward in the league.
Maroons coach Kevin Walters is on record as saying Arrow is being sized up, with Josh McGuire (ankle) joining Matt Gillett (neck) and Tim Glasby (thumb) on Queensland's injured list.
Arrow hasn't taken a backward step despite battling debilitating back spasms over the past few weeks. He was awarded man-of-the-match honours in last week's loss to Cronulla.
Should he score a points victory on Saturday over Maroons and Australian No.13 Papalii, it would go a long way to locking in a Queensland jumper.
"The match-up is a good one, isn't it? It's sure to make Kevvie happy having both of those guys in good form," Titans coach Garth Brennan said.
"Jai's got a job to do for us. I don't think he worries too much about what Papalii's going to do. He's got to worry about himself and let the other boys worry about Papalii."
