Billy Slater praises Kurt Capewell after monster effort in Queensland’s game two win over New South Wales

Queensland State of Origin coach Billy Slater has praised the performance of Warriors second rower Kurt Capewell following the side’s game two victory over the Blues in Perth last night.

Capewell scored a try in a massive performance for Queensland as they held off a fast-finishing New South Wales side 26-24 to send the series to a decider in Sydney next month.

Capewell led the Maroons with 11 hit-ups and finished with 37 tackles in an 80-minute effort.

“There’s a reason why the Warriors are doing well, they’ve got players like Kurt Capewell in their team. That’s what successful footy teams look like. They’ve got hard-working players who are willing to put everything into the footy team and that’s what Capes does,” Slater said after his side levelled the series.

Capewell’s selection for game two was criticised in sections of the media because he leads the NRL in missed tackles. Capewell tops the unwanted category with 75 missed tackles this season, leading by a wide margin, 20 more than the next player on the list.

Slater said he wasn’t even aware of the statistic when he selected Capewell for game two.

“A bit of talk around the number of missed tackles on his stat sheet, I actually didn’t know that until I read it in the paper,” Slater admitted.

“Probably goes to show that I don’t look at numbers when I look at habits in players - I look at their actions and how they contribute to their footy team and he has done an amazing job. Probably played half the season and centre the other half in the backrow. His body’s in great shape, he’s nice and fit and he’s a team-first player... it might have surprised a few but wasn’t that out of the blue for me.”

Capewell is set to miss Saturday’s home game against the Panthers after not being named in the squad, travelling back from Perth today.

With Rocco Berry and Ali Leiataua still sidelined with injuries, Warriors coach Andrew Webster has called on youngster Moala Graham-Taufa to replace Capewell, in what will be his first NRL game of the season after three appearances last year.