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Korbin Sims eager to take on Tariq on Origin stage

Dragons forward Korbin Sims still has a burning desire to represent Queensland in State of Origin and will aiming to put himself back in the selection frame with a big game against the Cowboys at WIN Stadium on Friday night.

While brother Tariq plays for NSW, Korbin is eligible for Queensland after moving to Brisbane to join the Broncos as a 15-year-old and he hopes to line up against his elder sibling at Origin level.

Despite Sims not having any contact with Maroons coach Kevin Walters during the series, there are some who believe the inclusion of the St George Illawarra enforcer would bolster the Maroons forwards after last Sunday night's 38-6 defeat at Optus Stadium.

"Obviously my year hasn't been great so far. I had the suspension at the start of the year and then six weeks off with injury [broken arm] but if it happens this year it happens," Sims said.

"If it doesn't I have got to grit down and keep working hard to try and make the side soon because it is still very much a big goal of mine to make the Queensland side. For now I have got to try to get my body right and keep playing some good footy."

Sims watched Queensland's capitulation in Perth at home after captaining Fiji for the first time in last Saturday night's Pacific Test against Lebanon at Leichhardt Oval.

He admitted to mixed emotions after Tariq was recalled for the NSW team and made 85 metres with the ball from nine runs in a 25 metre stint, which also included one line-break assist and two tackle breaks. 

Blues forward Tariq Sims.
Blues forward Tariq Sims. ©Gregg Porteous/NRL Photos

"It was really tough, I want to see my brother do well and succeed in everything that he does but that's come at a cost with Queensland not playing so well against a very strong NSW outfit on Sunday over in WA," Sims said.

"He made a couple of decent runs and had a couple of tackle breaks. When he got close to the try line I was rooting for him, especially with him being a back-rower playing in the middle. As a forward the tries don't come often, especially in Origin, so when he gets a bit close to the try line I am cheering him on a bit."

The Blues arrived home on Monday night and Tariq Sims trained with his Dragons teammates on Tuesday morning ahead of Friday night's match against North Queensland.

St George Illawarra second-rower Tyson Frizell played the full 80 metres for NSW after overcoming a neck injury and he is expected to be fit to play the Cowboys, along with Blues prop Paul Vaughan, who carried the ball 119 metres from 13 runs and made five tackle breaks, and Queensland hooker Ben Hunt.

The Dragons had 11 players involved in the representative weekend, with five-eighth Corey Norman selected as 19th man for the Maroons, Mikaele Ravalawa and Joe Lovodua joining Sims in the Fiji team and Jalal Bazzaz in the Lebanon side.

Tariq, Ruan, CJ and Korbin Sims.
Tariq, Ruan, CJ and Korbin Sims. ©Scott Davis/NRL Photos

There were also nine members of the club's NRLW team in last Friday night's Women's State of Origin at North Sydney Oval.

"The representative round is always very good, it gives the non-representative players a bit of time to rest and the players who represent their teams or their countries can take a lot of experience out of what they have been a part of," Sims said.

"It's a very important game for us against the Cowboys. We didn't have the best game against Manly two weeks ago but we have down our review and we can safely say we have spoken about what we need to. We are very excited and Friday night at WIN Stadium is hopefully going to be packed out and we can start the weekend right."

Acknowledgement of Country

St George Illawarra Dragons respect and honour the Traditional Custodians of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders peoples, where our games are played, our programs are conducted and in the communities we support.

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