Pictured: Action from the 2013 game featuring the likes of Cody Walker, Jake Granville and Ben Shea.
QRL Chairman Peter Betros will announce the 2014 Queensland Residents team during the live broadcast of next Sunday’s Channel 9 match between the Northern Pride and PNG Hunters.
Round 17 of the Intrust Super Cup this weekend will now provide the final opportunity for players to impress Queensland selectors.
The team for next month’s highly-anticipated clash against NSW at Suncorp Stadium will be guided by 2013 Coach of the Year Jason Demetriou, with players from as many as 10 Intrust Super Cup teams still heavily in contention.
The selection panel, which includes former National Rugby League coach Murray Hurst, will closely monitor the performances of players involved in club matches commencing tomorrow.
“We have had some conversations between ourselves and with Jason to ascertain what he is looking for and the style of footy he is looking to play,” Hurst said.
“We’re very comfortable with where we are at this point in time. We are all heading in a similar direction but there is still another week of Intrust Super Cup matches before we will look to settle on an actual team.
“As it stands there are a number of players competing for almost all positions and some stand out performances this weekend will certainly make our lives easier in narrowing down what is a really strong group.”
Queensland will be striving to reclaim the honours in the annual representative match after NSW claimed a tight contest in Sydney last year 22-18.
This year’s match will be played in Brisbane on July 9 before Game 3 of the Holden State of Origin series between the XXXX Maroons and Blues.
* Queensland Residents team announcement: Sunday, June 29, during half-time of Channel 9’s broadcast of the Intrust Super Cup match between the Pride and Hunters.
The team will also be published on QRL.com.au and the Intrust Super Cup Facebook and Twitter pages.
PNG Hunters players are ineligible for Queensland Residents selection. This follows a mutual agreement between the Hunters and the QRL, which took into consideration the extensive national programs already provided in PNG.