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Jake Friend's Queensland State of Origin hopes have been shot down by a biceps rupture, while Ben Hunt is also getting scans on an injured shoulder.
Jake Friend's shot at a maiden State of Origin jersey appears crushed after scans confirmed the Queensland hooking candidate had suffered a biceps rupture.
Seemingly in a tussle for Maroons No.9 jersey with St George Illawarra's Ben Hunt, Friend was told on Friday morning he'd suffered a serious injury in Thursday's loss to the Dragons.
The Roosters are yet to confirm how long Friend will spend on the sidelines, although it's understood he would likely miss between 3-4 months with surgery.
The news came as Hunt also went in for scans on a shoulder injury on Friday, however those are only considered precautionary with the Dragons confident it was a bad cork which forced him from the SCG on Anzac Day.
Regardless, it highlights the concern around the dummy-half role for Queensland given incumbent Andrew McCullough is out of form and Hunt has only started at No.9 six times in the NRL and never in representative football.
Friend's injury is also a particularly cruel blow for the 29-year-old, who has for so long played understudy to Cameron Smith in Queensland.
"He wasn't the best (after the game) understandably," Roosters and NSW captain Boyd Cordner said.
"Friendy has been knocking on the door for a while now ... he's a passionate guy and passionate Queenslander.
"I know how much that jersey would mean to him ... He's playing the best he has in his career.
"He has all the attributes to play State of Origin."
On return from a shoulder injury against the Dragons, Friend starred and looked as if he was about to play himself into the Maroons side.
He outshone Hunt, kicking a 40-20 out of dummy-half in the lead up to one try and forcing an error after coming back on the field from the injury to set up the final try.
He also pulled off a try-saving tackle on Hunt as the Dragons No.7 scooted out of dummy-half, forcing the ball free just as the Saints looked set to mount a comeback.
"It's upsetting, disappointing, all those things," Roosters and former Queensland halfback Cooper Cronk said.
"When someone has been doing a lot of the little things over a long period of time, they deserve a bit of a reward for that.
"Some of the guys who do the little things, that understand desire can sometimes override skill, those are the guys suited for Origin, Jake has that in bucketloads."