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Tom Dearden showed he can have a bright State of Origin future, after filling Daly Cherry-Evans' Queensland No.7 jersey with aplomb.

Billy Slater has declared it's Tom Dearden's time to own Queensland's No.7 jersey, after the new Maroons' halfback vindicated the call to move on from Daly Cherry-Evans.

Slater's selection bombshell to axe Cherry-Evans from the Maroons' side after the 18-6 game-one loss at Suncorp Stadium was always going to be one the coach was judged on.

The decision to move on from Cherry-Evans marked the first time Queensland had dropped a first-choice halfback for a live rubber since 2001, and the first time a captain was dropped mid-series this century.

But the gamble paid dividends at a wet and slippery Optus Stadium on Wednesday night, with Dearden providing a steady hand in his first go in the No.7 jersey.

The North Queensland halfback played crucial roles in three of the Maroons' four first-half tries, before they held on as their 26-6 lead shrunk into a 26-24 victory.

Cherry-Evans has captained the most games of any Queenslander this century, but Slater said the time was right for a changing of the guard.

"You won't get a negative word out of me for Daly Cherry-Evans," Slater said.

"He's a wonderful player, and has been a wonderful player for a long period of time.

"It's Tom's time now. And he didn't surprise any of us, I don't think, in what he put out there tonight.

"I'm really proud of him. That's the first time he's worn the number seven jersey for Queensland. I wouldn't imagine it'd be the last."

Dearden dug into the line for Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow's first try, before he kicked across field for the winger's second moments later.

But the new No.7's best play came later in the first half, when he went to the left, created numbers and gave Kurt Mann the chance to offload for a Kurt Capewell try.

There were issues in defence down his right edge in the second half as NSW fought back, but he was never bullied by the Blues and neither did they run over the top of him.

Slater's other big selection gamble in recalling Capewell also proved a winner, with the Warriors second-rower providing Queensland with vital grit to go with his try.

Capewell is the unenviable leader for missed tackles this NRL season - 75 from 13 games - but that didn't faze Slater at all.

"There was a bit of talk about the number of missed tackles on his stat sheet. I actually didn't know that until I read it in the paper," Slater said.

"It probably goes to show that I don't look at numbers.

"When I look at habits in players, I look at their actions and how they contribute to their footy team and he has done an amazing job.

"There's a reason why the Warriors are doing well, because they've got players like Kurt Capewell in their team.

"That's what successful footy teams look like - they've got hard working players that are willing to put everything into the footy team.

"His selection might have surprised a few, but it wasn't that out of the blue for me."