Queensland coach Billy Slater has been "pleasantly surprised" to see new sides of Sam Walker during State of Origin camp for his hotly-anticipated debut.
The circumstances of a first Origin game are rarely more challenging than those facing the Sydney Roosters star in Origin I at Accor Stadium on Wednesday night.
Walker will start in the coveted halfback jersey in front of a hostile Sydney crowd, doing so in place of reigning player of the series Tom Dearden.
The 23-year-old Walker also enters the Origin arena on the back of a selection battle, having trumped a list of challengers led by in-form North Queensland half Jake Clifford.
But after observing Walker across nine days in camp, Slater had no doubt the Roosters No.7 would be able to handle the heat of the Origin cauldron.
