Jarrod Wallace deserves another chance to start for Queensland in State of Origin III, Maroons great Gorden Tallis says.
Wallace has come under fire again following the Maroons'' series-defining Game II loss, after the prop failed to run more than 50 metres for a third time in his first four Origin matches.
It came after Queensland selector Gene Miles admitted Wallace had been given a "second chance" in Sydney, after his opening game numbers were "not ideal".
Queensland coach Kevin Walters want to use next month's dead rubber as a chance to blood players for the future, and given Wallace is aged 26 he remains a big chance to be a part of that.
And Tallis, who played 17 games for the Maroons in the forwards between 1994 and 2003, said even though he had concerns about Wallace's performances, the Gold Coast prop deserved to start again at Suncorp Stadium on July 11.
"Watching the first game he said he got lost out there, and you can because the ball is there, and the ball is there, and it goes past you," Tallis told Fox League's Queenslanders Only.
"And then in Game II I'm thinking he can correct that, and got that experience from Game I and bring it in there.
"He would be a little disappointed with his stats. He's there to make metres and that is alarming for that.
"There is (Tim) Glasby there and a few other guys who can probably come in. I'd give him one more crack. Because he can play quality minutes."
Wallace hit out at his critics after Game I, as he and Gold Coast coach Garth Brennan accused them of not watching the game but only judging his stats.
Brennan argued Wallace should have been credited for the work he did off the ball, while other figures also support his performances.
In six possessions on Sunday he passed before the line twice as Queensland looked to take it to the Blues down the edges as part of their game plan, averaging 11 metres per run.
He also missed just one tackle from 44 attempts over the opening two games of the series, despite the fact other Queensland middle forwards were exposed in defence.
"We were going side to side, so when you break the game and Billy (Slater) was hitting them on the edges," Tallis said.
"He could've been in the middle doing his job running decoys. It's not shirking his job, it's not that he didn't want to do it. But sometimes the game doesn't play out."
Alternatively, Glasby and Joe Ofahengaue are options if the Maroons change their pack.
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