Queensland playing the underdog
card already

Six weeks before a ball has even been kicked in this year's State of Origin series and Queensland is already playing the underdog tag.

Queensland captain Gorden Tallis insists the Maroons are underdogs yet again to beat New South Wales in rugby league's best-of-three showpiece starting in Brisbane on June 11.

Tallis says a maximum of five Maroons could expect to make the national team if one was picked today.

He says the Blues deserve favouritism because they continually field classy line-ups and are able to choose a 17-man squad from 250 players compared to Queensland's 50 or so.