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Message: [QUOTE="BroncsFan, post: 2835793, member: 9052"] From Fox Sports QUEENSLAND PLANNING FOR LIFE AFTER JT Kevin Walters admits he’s starting to plan for life after Johnathan Thurston in the Origin arena. The champion Queenslander has proclaimed the 2017 series will be his last in the Maroon jersey and Walters is working behind the scenes to ensure they aren’t left in the lurch the following season. [I] [/I] With succession planning a focal point of his job, Walters is confident they have the talent to cover for the halfback next year and told [I]Private Ryan[/I] he will invite a handful of promising halves into camp to learn from Thurston during the 2017 series. “We’ve known for the past couple of years, they’re getting a bit older,” Walters said of his ageing stars. “We’re pretty fortunate with the talent pool that’s sitting underneath Cooper (Cronk) and Johnathan with Michael Morgan coming off the bench. “Then you have guys like Cherry-Evans who has played Origin in the halves, (Ben) Hunt, (Anthony) Milford, (Cameron) Munster, (Moses) Mbye — we’ve got some good young players in those positions to come through. “They’ve got to put their hand up. They’ve all got the ability and talent but they need to make us pick them.” And it’s not just halves Walters will bring into camp. The invitation will extend to players he believes are likely to make their Origin debut in 2018. They’ll be brought into camp during their bye rounds. Brisbane great Justin Hodges pointed to how the Maroons brought Dane Gagai and Will Chambers into the mix as his career was coming to an end. Hodges revealed there were times in the final year of his Origin journey where he would drop out of the training session and let the men next in line get a taste. “There’s no secrets,” Hodges explained. “We let players have a run. I’ve stepped out and let them have a turn while we do left on right (work) during the opposed session so they can get a feel for what it’s like running off players. “That’s something you have to be mindful of. You have to let guys come in and get comfortable. It’s always good to give them a chance to train with the guys. “We always invite the boys in and train.” [/QUOTE]

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