They played alongside ​each other for more than a decade but Justin Hodges has called for the head of Sam Thaiday as part of a major Maroons reshuffle before the second State of Origin match.

Hodges, a former Maroons, Australian and Broncos centre, now coaches the Queensland U20s but had his say on the make-up of the top side, with Thaiday the highest-profile casualty of the team that lost 28-4 in Brisbane last Wednesday night.

Thaiday would be shown the door in a raft of changes, with Justin O'Neill, Nate Myles, Aidan Guerra and Jacob Lillyman also on the hit list. Hodges would also move Darius Boyd to the wing to cater for the return of Billy Slater.

Hodges said Thaiday, who started on the bench, had lost his aggression and had limited impact from the interchange ranks. He said he suspected Kevin Walters would retain him due to his experience but needed to light a fire under the Brisbane veteran.

"When you start from the bench the coach wants you to have an impact when you get on the field and I think Sammy needs to bring a bit more punch to his work at the moment," Hodges wrote in his column at NRL.com. 

"Sammy likes to be the guy in camp who mucks around and plays the joker but in Origin you really need to roll your sleeves up and get the job done. He's one bloke you'd love to see get aggressive but for some reason he seems to have lost that aggression.

"You probably give him another game because you still need some experience in the side but if I was Kevvie Walters I'd sit him down and tell him what he expects of him and what he needs from him when he comes off the bench."

Hodges had backed O'Neill before game one but felt his lack of involvement to help Queensland out of trouble was indicative of a player not at the top of his game. 

"I don't believe that Juzzy is playing with much confidence at the moment so I think he's got to go. You need to be willing to take those tough carries in Origin and the players around him like Dane Gagai and Will Chambers both had 20 carries for around 200 metres and at the moment Juzzy isn't offering that aggression that you need.

"If we bring Billy back and Darius shifts to the wing then the simple solution is to move Dane Gagai to the centres which at the moment gives the team more strike out wide."

Hodges would bring in Coen Hess, despite the wishes of his club coach Paul Green, fellow North Queenslander Gavin Cooper, Jarrod Wallace and Brisbane's Korbin Sims.

He said that while Boyd was solid in game one, the impact of Blues fullback James Tedesco showed the value of having a livewire performer in the back line, which he felt Slater added should he return.

Justin Hodges' Maroons 17: Billy Slater, Darius Boyd, Will Chambers, Dane Gagai, Corey Oates, Johnathan Thurston, Cooper Cronk, Dylan Napa, Cameron Smith, Jarrod Wallace, Matt Gillett, Josh Papalii, Josh McGuire, Coen Hess, Korbin Sims, Michael Morgan, Gavin Cooper.