He's heard the speculation he could be a bolter for Queensland's State of Origin captaincy but even if Maroons coach Kevin Walters was on the phone Jai Arrow would find it hard to believe.
Ex-Queensland star Gorden Tallis has suggested the hard-working forward should be given the nod to lead the Maroons this year and into the future, especially after Daly Cherry-Evans and Jake Freind both suffered injuries last weekend.
Arrow is 23 and has played just three Origin matches but Tallis argues he is a long-term option to lead the Maroons' next generation, after the retirements of incumbent skipper Greg Inglis and champions Johnathan Thurston, Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk.
Arrow admits even if the news was being delivered by Walters himself he'd smell a rat.
"I think the first words that would come to my mind would be, are you geeing me up, or something like that," Arrow told AAP.
"For him (Tallis) to say something like that, it's mind-boggling ... to be honest I don't know what I'd do, or how I'd handle it."
The raft of departures from Queensland's set-up in recent years has created a leadership vacuum for the Maroons.
Arrow is just one of several candidates being touted for the captaincy, with Michael Morgan and Cameron Munster among them.
Whoever gets the role, Arrow admits there needs to be a step up in ownership across the squad heading into this year's series.
"It's a new era for Queensland ... I'm sure the boys that come into that side will all sit down and say this is our team," he said.
"I'm a big believer that actions speak louder than words, so I'm sure that'll be one of the main things that whoever does become captain will do and lead Queensland to success in the future."
