3 minute read

Kurt Capewell insists he can overcome a groin strain to play for Queensland as the Maroons try to wrap up the State of Origin series in Sydney,

Queensland's State of Origin hero Kurt Capewell has declared his sore groin won't stop him playing in Game II as the Maroons try to clinch the series in Sydney.

Capewell was superb on debut on Wednesday night, setting up Queensland's first try, claiming a crucial intercept and making his mark in defence during their second-half comeback.

But he left the field with four minutes to play as Queensland held on for the 18-14 win, after battling the niggling groin problem in the lead-up to the Adelaide game.

"I plan on playing next week," he said.

"It just tightened up late. I hurt it at the start of the week at training.

"Towards the end of the game it was getting a bit hard. I didn't want to go off because I knew we didn't have any centres on the bench.

"But it got to the stage there where they scored that last try where I couldn't move or make up the ground on my centre.

"I felt it was best for the team to get off the field and get someone else out there who could run."

The Maroons will name their squad for the ANZ Stadium clash on Friday, and while Valentine Holmes will return there is no doubt Capewell will be named.

The 27-year-old shrugged off the disappointment of Penrith's grand final defeat to star in the match..

Queensland camp alongside the Maroons' seven other debutants proved the best tonic, even if Cameron Munster constantly taunted him over the result.

On the field he embraced the challenge of starting in the centres for the first time since July, 2019, when he was at Cronulla.

"I played in the centres early in my career so I was really looking forward to the challenge of getting back out there," he said.

And he did it like a pro, with his fend on Clint Gutherson before kicking the ball back inside for AJ Brimson early in the second half a defining moment in the match.

Coach Wayne Bennett described it as looking like he was kicking a horse, but as Capewell put it, it was "ugly but effective".

"Everyone knows if you go through the line there is always a fullback or half back on the inside," Capewell said.

"The banana kick is always something you do at training, so it was good to get one on.

"That's all the stuff you do as a kid, you don't forget it. It was good it came off."