Slater was sensationally overlooked after displaying dynamite form for Melbourne after almost two seasons on the sidelines with shoulder complaints.

But his electric form was not enough to compel Queensland selectors to bring him back to the Origin arena, much to the surprise of Boyd.

“I thought they would have picked Billy (at fullback) to be honest,” Boyd said.

“There was a lot of talk about Billy’s form and I wasn’t sure how Queensland would go with the other positions.

“Billy has been playing really good football and he’s a legend of the game, he’s played so many games for Queensland and done them proud.

“I thought it was more of a certainty (that Slater would be Queensland’s fullback) but I’m happy they picked me as the No. 1 and I want to do the job.

“Fullback is my preferred position, so I really want to do Queensland and the selectors proud and make sure that they’ve made the right choice.”

It seems Queensland’s “loyalty” policy works both ways with Slater, a veteran of 27 Origins, omitted in place of incumbent Boyd in what captain Cameron Smith said was in line with past selections.

“It was definitely a hard decision,” Smith said. “I don’t think Billy could have done much more to put his case forward for this match but given our policy over the years, particularly since I’ve been playing, we had to stay loyal.

“Darius has been given the opportunity to back up what he did last year, he was our player of the series, and he’s been rewarded with the chance to pull on the No. 1 jersey.

 “Billy will go back and work extremely hard to put his case forward for game two and that’s all he can do.”