QUEENSLAND coach Mal Meninga has given the greatest indication yet Josh McGuire will claim a Maroons debut by stating it is “nearly time” for the Brisbane enforcer to get a coveted call up for State of Origin I this month.

McGuire heads the list of forwards being considered by Meninga and Maroons selectors for Origin I in Sydney on May 27 as Queensland look to pick a pack that can overpower the Blues on the slippery ANZ Stadium surface.

With Ben Te’o playing rugby union and Meninga leaning towards bolstering his front row rotation rather than taking a bench of second rowers, McGuire is at the front of the queue when the Maroons selectors assess form over the next two NRL weekends.

While McGuire needs to keep his form up at the ladder leading Broncos over the next fortnight, the 25-year-old was 18th man for Origin III last year and has impressed Meninga with his blazing start to 2015.

“He has been very good. Josh has been on the fringe for a couple of years and has been part of our emerging program and it is probably nearly time really,” Meninga said.

“He is a good lad and I know he wants to put that Maroon jersey on. He will be in selection discussions for sure.”

McGuire signed off on his Samoan international career in style on Saturday night, scoring a barging try in the unusual role of hooker in their 18-16 win over Tonga and will now focus on keeping his Broncos NRL form at its peak.

media_camera Josh McGuire barges over for Samoa on Saturday.

“It would be a great honour to wear the Maroon and the Samoan boys are very supportive of that too,” McGuire said.

“It would be a dream come true if I got selected for Queensland but I just need to keep playing good footy for the Broncos.

“We have two massive games ahead. Penrith will get some troops back and the Cowboys are flying too so I can’t wait. I’m looking forward to getting back into training with the boys and preparing for Friday night.”

Aiding McGuire’s cause is Meninga’s plan to stack his bench with big men, believing the Maroons need as much muscle as possible to compensate for the new ruck speeds.

media_camera Josh McGuire had a blinder for Samoa on Saturday.

Daly Cherry-Evans will retain the utility role, but Meninga is keen to not lose momentum when props Nate Myles and Matt Scott are rested.

“With Ben (Te’o) no longer in the mix, it does give us the chance to rethink what we have been doing a little bit,” Meninga told the FOGS website.

“Because of the crackdown on wrestling, the speed of the play the ball has increased and this has made the role of the prop forward even more important.

“What the first few rounds of the competition showed us is that the halves really need that extra fraction of a second of decision time that comes with good forward momentum.

“With that in mind, I think we will be leaning towards having three front-rowers on the bench this year to make sure we can keep that momentum going in the back end of each half.

“We would still probably need to carry that utility role at No.14 like we have been doing, like with Daly Cherry-Evans last year, but we will probably change our thinking slightly to include a bit more size and muscle on the bench this year.”

Originally published as Mal hints at Origin debut for McGuire