Received

Queensland's relatively inexperienced forward pack is ready to step into the breach in the absence of retired warhorse Josh Papalii, coach Billy Slater says.

The Maroons will field three forwards - Tom Gilbert, Tom Flegler and Reuben Cotter - who have each played just one State of Origin game ahead of this year's series opener in Adelaide on Wednesday night.

Canberra prop Papalii was the spiritual leader of the Maroons pack in a 23-game Origin career, and for the last seven series was one of the first forwards picked.

He will leave a massive hole in the middle of the park but Slater said the tyros he had selected were up to the challenge.

Gilbert will play in the second row but Cotter and Flegler will line up in the middle and wrangle with NSW's debutant enforcer Tevita Pangai Jr in a mouth-watering clash.

"Big Papa was a real warrior for Queensland for a decade and they are big shoes to fill," Slater said.

"We are really healthy in that position. Both Reuben and Fleg have done a great job for Queensland and earned their opportunity. I am really comfortable with the forwards we have picked."

Brisbane prop Flegler is a firebrand who has brought under control the discipline issues that shadowed his early career.

He will not hold back in any confrontation with his former Broncos teammate Pangai Jr.

"(Flegler) was involved in all three of our camps last year but never got an opportunity to play," Slater said.

"He is a better and more rounded player this year than he was last year.

"I know Pat Carrigan and Payne Haas get a lot of the raps at the Broncos, and rightfully so, but Fleg is doing a fantastic job for the Broncos and has earned his spot on this team."

Maroons middle forward Cotter said in camp there would be a target on NSW's sole hooker Apisai Koroisau but Slater played a straight bat when asked about that tactic.

"There is more than one way to skin a cat in our game," he said.

"What works for NSW may not work for us and vice-versa. It is important for us to get our game right and to play our footy.

"We are aware of the strengths of NSW and we will need to nullify them but we need to play to our strengths."

North Queensland's Cotter made his Origin debut last year in an 80-minute display in the series opener.

A hamstring injury prevented him from playing the final two games but he has been given a huge vote of confidence by the coach despite the Cowboys' poor form this season.

© AAP 2023

Tim Tsyzu's camp insist he will be fit for the first defence of his interim boxing world title despite the fighter requiring surgery after being bitten by a dog.

The Australian is due to fight Mexico's Carlos Ocampo on June 18 on the Gold Coast to defend the interim WBO super welterweight belt he claimed in March.

But he'll have to overcome a laceration to his right forearm after a dog bite on Saturday left the 28-year-old requiring attention from the team doctor and a surgeon.

At best, the situation has played havoc with Tszyu's preparation three weeks out from the high-stakes bout.

"It's certainly not the ideal preparation any time a fighter ends up in hospital a few weeks out from a world-title fight," Tszyu's promoter George Rose said.

"But the best news right now is that Tim is doing OK.

"He has the best and most experienced team around him in world boxing. They have reassured me he'll be more than ready on June 18 to take on Ocampo.

"If they're confident, I'm confident."

Tszyu has a guaranteed unification fight against American star Jermell Charlo later this year.

Rather than wait for that, the Australian has risked it all against Ocampo just as he did when he beat Tony Harrison two months ago.

Tszyu and Charlo were set to meet in January but the undisputed champion from Louisiana broke his hand in training, leaving their clash in limbo.

© AAP 2023

Adam Brown claimed his wife had tried to attack him in their kitchen, when he plunged a blade deep into her neck and chest.

While their two-year-old son was in another room, the Deakin University lecturer stabbed Chen Cheng after an argument about the toddler's kindergarten arrangements.

"We were basically at each other with knives," Brown told police when he was arrested.

But a Supreme Court judge shut down Brown's story, as he jailed him for up to 24 years on Tuesday.

Justice John Champion said there was a clear disparity between the 35-year-old mother's "catastrophic" fatal stab wounds and the 41-year-old's minor injuries.

"Ms Cheng fought for her life against your attack on her," he said.

"It is clear that you had an opportunity to stop, put the knife down and walk away from the argument. Instead you engaged in what you knew to be morally abhorrent behaviour."

Neighbours found Ms Cheng's lifeless body on the grass in the backyard of the family's Croydon North unit. They rushed to the home after hearing her scream: "Help me, help me, he's trying to kill me."

Ms Cheng was born in China and the couple met in 2016 after she moved to Melbourne for university. They married a year later and Ms Cheng gave birth to their son in 2020.

Her mother, who stayed with the couple after their son was born, witnessed arguments between them and became worried about their marriage when she returned home to China. She started calling her daughter every day.

On April 30 last year, Ms Cheng was on WeChat to her mother for 77 minutes while she had dinner with Brown and their son.

After the call, the couple began fighting in an upstairs room about 9.30pm, before moving down to their kitchen.

Justice Champion said Brown had been triggered by the argument when he entered into a "state of rage".

He felt humiliated by Ms Cheng, and claimed he was trying to restrain her after she spat at him and hit him around his ears.

Brown stabbed and cut his wife more than 10 times between their kitchen and backyard.

He admitted the killing during his first police interview and later formally pleaded guilty to murder.

Ms Cheng was physically smaller and more vulnerable than Brown, who overpowered her in the "savage and sustained attack", Justice Champion said.

He said the murder of an intimate partner was utterly reprehensible and all too common in Australia.

Brown had deprived his son of both his parents at a young age, he said, and Ms Cheng's family of a beloved daughter, sister and niece.

"You have permanently impacted the lives of so many people," Justice Champion said in sentencing Brown.

Brown, who waved to family members as he was escorted out of court, will be eligible for parole after 17-and-a-half years. He has already served more than a year of his sentence.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

Lifeline 13 11 14

© AAP 2023