Reece Walsh’s hopes of retaining his spot in the Queensland team for State of Origin 3 have received a boost after the Cowboys revealed Tom Dearden is ‘no chance’ to be ready for the decider. Dearden was player of the series in Queensland’s series triumph last year, but has been sidelined in 2026 by an ankle injury.
The Cowboys halfback was originally targeting a return this weekend and potentially winning a spot in the Maroons’ six-man bench for Origin 3. Sam Walker has cemented the starting halfback role, but Dearden would have been a handy option to carry on the bench – potentially at the expense of Walsh.
Reece Walsh (R) will likely retain his spot after Tom Dearden (L) was ruled out of Origin 3. Image: Getty
But the Cowboys medical team has now revealed that Dearden won’t be back until Round 19 at the earliest, which is after Origin 3. Todd Payten recently revealed that initial scans failed to pick up a leg fracture separate to Dearden’s syndesmosis injury, which delayed his potential return.
The Cowboys’ medicos Chris Ball and Steve Sartori – who are also part of the Queensland set-up – believe Dearden wouldn’t be able to train fully if Billy Slater picked him in his squad. “He’s no chance for Origin 3, that’s what our doctors are saying,” Cowboys football boss Micheal Luck told The Courier Mail.
Tom Dearden was player of the series in Queensland’s Origin triumph last year.
(Darrian Traynor)
“The Maroons doctors are also our doctors and he’s not doing any team training, he is still a little while away. Tom has only just started running again and Origin is 12 days away, so he is a bit behind in his recovery.
“If he went into Maroons camp, he wouldn’t even be running. He will start doing that stuff on the field with us next week and then it’s a hope of getting him to play the following week for us.
“We have a bye next week and then we play Manly the week after Origin 3. There’s a chance he might play in that game, but there’s a fair few boxes to tick between now and then.”
Reece Walsh boost after Tom Dearden ruled out
With Dearden not ready in time, Walsh has a golden opportunity to retain his spot on Slater’s six-man bench. Walsh was overlooked for Origin 1, but came in at the expense of Ezra Mam for Game 2. However Walsh was unused as the Maroons levelled the series with a 44-24 triumph.