Parker playing himself into Origin Almost a decade after his first game for Queensland, Corey Parker could finally make his State of Origin starting debut in Sydney next month at age 31. Such has been Parker's dominant opening to 2013 for Brisbane, averaging just over 40 tackles and almost 120 metres from 16 carries per game, his form almost demands selection in Mal Meninga's starting pack. And following the retirement of Petero Civoniceva, Meninga's forward stocks could be in for some minor tinkering for game one on June 25. Just how the selectors deal with the void left by Queensland's longest serving prop will have a big bearing on whether Parker finally gets an Origin starting jumper against NSW or comes off the bench for the ninth time. There's a strong case for selectors to push last year's man-of-the-series Nate Myles into the front-row where he's playing very strongly for the Gold Coast and for Parker to slot into the second-row beside his Brisbane captain Sam Thaiday, with Ashley Harrison at lock. Harrison only needs to recover from an ankle injury in time and he'll be picked. Those doubting Parker's case should compare his key work-rate stats from the first eight rounds of the premiership to those of inspirational Blues' skipper Paul Gallen who's averaging 26.3 tackles and ploughing through 165 metres a game for the Sharks. Both Myles and Thaiday, more at home in the back-row, have been doing a great job playing in the middle third for their NRL clubs. But for the balance of the side it makes more sense for Myles to play prop and for Thaiday to keep attacking the edges where he can be so dangerous. The make-up of Queensland's Origin pack will depend on how strongly Canberra captain Dave Shillington, the man groomed to replace Civoniceva, comes back from his chest/rib injury suffered last month. If he finds form quickly, he would be the other starting prop option to partner Matt Scott, although with Dave Taylor out of favour with selectors, Shillington could appeal more to them as a big-man bench option. The massive hitting power of punishing back-rowers Matt Gillett (Brisbane) and Ben Te'o (South Sydney) gives them both strong claims for bench impact roles, leaving only a utility bench spot to settle on. Before the start of the year that jersey was going to brilliant Bulldog Ben Barba. But personal issues and concerns about his welfare which led to Canterbury standing him down for the opening rounds, will come into play and could open the door for Manly's Daly Cherry-Evans who was another 18th man during last year's interstate series. A likely Queensland 17-man squad would be: Billy Slater, Darius Boyd, Greg Inglis, Justin Hodges, Brent Tate, Johnathan Thurston, Cooper Cronk, Matt Scott, Cameron Smith (c), Nate Myles, Sam Thaiday, Corey Parker, Ashley Harrison. Interchange: Dave Shillington, Matt Gillett, Ben Te'o, Daly Cherry-Evans or Ben Barba.