Usually as chaos ensues south of the border, Queensland have been able to creep under the radar by relying on the same great players time and time again. That's largely the same scenario for game one of the 2016 series as new coach Kevin Walters has been gifted the same great players, while his staunch stance on Queensland's standard in which he stood down a number of Queensland's best up and coming players, hasn't really taken much away from this squad.

With Darius Boyd in great form at fullback and Greg Inglis capable of doing a slick job - as he has done when Billy Slater was fit - Walters has opted to ride with Boyd and fullback and Inglis at left centre. No real dramas here and it could give Queensland a slightly refreshed look as New South Wales haven't really dealt with Boyd in conjunction with Jonathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk; watching those three link up with their passing will be a pleasure.

The two new faces also come in the backline with Corey Oates and Justin O'Neill handed Origin debuts. Oates is a beast and has ticked all the boxes in Brisbane as he's huge but is quick enough to hang with the NRL's speedsters, combine that with his freakish finishing ability and Oates was always likely to keep Kyle Feldt waiting for his chance. Feldt could have got a look in if Dane Gagai wasn't playing his guts out every week in a mediocre Knights side. Some would view the Knights' form as a black mark against Gagai, but he was immense last year on debut, to the point where he immediately looked at home in the Origin cauldron.

O'Neill hasn't done much wrong since moving north from Melbourne to Townsville and he's formed one of the better centre pairings in the NRL along with Kane Linnett. O'Neill has been around the Queensland set up before and he's played with Cronk and Cameron Smith in Melbourne and Thurston at the Cowboys.

Oates, Inglis, O'Niell and Gagai are all strong runners of the footy and this will help Queensland get out of their own territory, especially with Adam Reynolds and James Maloney selected for NSW. They'll kick long and accurately, turning Queensland around which will place a huge emphasis on the running ability of Oates and Gagai especially.

Queensland's forward pack picks itself, with the only really contentious selection being that of Nate Myles. Myles and Dylan Walker have both been selected from a Manly Sea Eagles side that has failed to impress and their form has largely reflected the Sea Eagles predicament, yet Myles has been there and done the Origin thing many times before and his workrate will be crucial against NSW's big forwards.

Michael Morgan will come off the bench to add an extra play-making pair of hands while the rotation of Josh McGuire, Aidan Guerra and Josh Papalii intrigues me. We know McGuire will roll through the middle and he'll get through plenty of minutes, allowing for Matt Scott to catch his breath after a brutal opening stint. Both Guerra and Papalii are edge forwards, but there's no real need for them to both be put on the edge and we can expect one of them to be rolled through the middle.

I have a feeling that Papalii could be used as a wrecking ball through the middle, as he has done before. Papalii has done a fine job on the edge for the Raiders this season though, making the most of his size and footwork to bring the ruckus to the edges. I reckon it will be Papalii through the middle with Guerra coming on out wider, but both are capable of doing both jobs and it's up to Walters to figure out who he wants doing what.

The blueprint has been laid by Mal Meninga and previous Queensland teams, so Walters won't have to tinker too much. His biggest conundrum will be the rotation of Guerra and Papalii, with the minutes of his forwards also likely to give him plenty to ponder. Either Sam Thaiday or Matt Gillett will need to play 80 minutes, as will either/both Myles and Corey Parker and a lot of that depends on how creative Walters is willing to be with Guerra and Papalii.

Catching early vibes has me leaning towards Queensland, mainly because Walters has named his 17, in their positions and he appears to have everything figured out. Wing and centre selections would have kept Walters thinking, however he's basically picking up where Queensland left off and the core group of Queensland's dynasty is still intact ... and still playing great footy.