Next Wednesday, the State of Origin series moves up to Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, with the Blues having one hand on the Origin shield.
The equation is simple for the Blues: win and they can celebrate their first State of Origin series victory since 2005.
Lose and they will be forced into a decider which will be played out at their home ground on July 17.
For the Maroons, victory in next week’s second rubber is very important as they attempt to keep their winning Origin streak alive.
For the first time since 2008, the Maroons will find themselves under pressure to deliver in front of their home fans.
Here is the full preview of the second State of Origin match.
Queensland versus New South Wales
Wednesday, June 26
8:00pm
Suncorp Stadium
Queensland
Slater, Boyd, Inglis, Hodges, Tate, Thurston, Cronk, Scott, Smith (c), Myles, McQueen, Thaiday, Parker. Interchange: Cherry-Evans, Gillett, Te’o, Papalii. 18th man: Martin Kennedy.
IN: Cherry-Evans, Papalii. OUT: Shillington, Harrison.
New South Wales
Dugan, B Morris, Jennings, J Morris, Merrett, Maloney, Pearce, Gallen (c), Farah (vc), Woods, Lewis, Hoffman, Bird. Interchange: Fifita, Merrin, Reynolds, Watmough. 18th MAN: Sutton.
IN: Dugan, Merritt, Woods. OUT: Hayne, Ferguson, Tamou.
Game one: New South Wales 14-6 at ANZ Stadium, June 5, 2013.
It’s all or nothing for the Maroons here. The seven-time reigning Origin champions cannot afford to drop their bundle in front of what is expected to be another full house at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium.
The Maroons were flat and dismal in game one and never really found a way to win the first match, despite keeping the Blues scoreless in the second half.
They were outplayed, outclassed, call it whatever you like in the first half, as they wilted under the pressure of the Blues, something that was not seen in the last seven years as Queensland dominated at will.
For the first time in a while, the Maroons will enter an Origin match having made more positional changes than their southern counterparts. David Shillington and Ashley Harrison have been dropped, with Daly Cherry-Evans and Josh Papalii to make their Origin debuts for Queensland.
Cherry-Evans last year showed no signs of the dreaded second-year blues which plague a few players – following his explosive first year in which he led Manly to the premiership, he only started to step up his game as Manly remained in contention for the premiership in 2012.
And it is his game which is not only why he has been selected to make his State of Origin debut, it’s also why the Sea Eagles have continued their long period of success, in which they could be headed for a ninth consecutive finals series this year.
A lot has been spoken about Josh Papalii in recent weeks. He has made an impact for the Raiders and has contributed to their unbeaten run at home this year and a good season overall. Even before he was known he had agreed to a deal with Parramatta, only to renege on it Greg Inglis-style.
Now, let’s have a look at the New South Wales side.
Overall the team has been left unchanged from the team that were victorious a fortnight ago but the three forced changes came through injury and discipline.
Jarryd Hayne was forced to give way for Josh Dugan after suffering a hamstring injury while playing for Parramatta, while James Tamou and Blake Ferguson were both dropped for disciplinary reasons, with Aaron Woods and Nathan Merritt to take their places in the team.
Dugan has impressed for his new club, the Dragons, since being sacked by Canberra for repeated off-field indiscretions. It is his impressive resurgence which has seen him selected for his second State of Origin match after debuting in 2011.
There is no doubt that he will be able to repay the faith that Laurie Daley has invested in him, so the Queenslanders will look to shut him down from the first tackle.
Aaron Woods has impressed in a Wests Tigers side which has not impressed this season, and last year was nominated for Dally M Prop of the Year.
His game is very dangerous; he played every game for the Wests Tigers last season, made more than 350 runs for 3.4 km and made over 800 tackles.
The Queenslanders will also have a busy time trying to contain him, as he can easily run all over the opposition as he has shown for his club since debut.
And finally, Nathan Merritt, the hard luck story. Who would have thought that it would take him a decade to finally gain selection for New South Wales?
Merritt’s individual performances early in his career belied the Rabbitohs’ dire position; in 2006, he was the leading try-scorer in the NRL as the Rabbitohs finished last on the premiership ladder (interestingly, the AFL’s wooden spooners also provided the Coleman Medallist that year, Brendan Fevola).
Fast forward to today and still Merritt is one of the premier wingers in the competition, in a side that has come a very long way from the dark days of a decade ago when the club had just re-entered the NRL after two years out of the competition.
And so next week, Merritt will finally get his chance to show what he is made of in a New South Wales side which is only 80 minutes away from ending their seven-year Origin hoodoo.
Match-ups: Billy Slater versus Josh Dugan
Dugan’s second State of Origin appearance will be no different to his first; in his debut two years ago he opposed Billy Slater, who was (and still is) the premier fullback in the competition, at Suncorp Stadium, and Slater got the better of him. Now, come two years later it’ll be round two on the same ground.
Thurston/Cronk versus Maloney/Pearce
Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk were well off their best in Game I as the Roosters’ halves pairing of James Maloney and Mitchell Pearce continued their club form in the first game.
But the Roosters will probably also be haunted by the last pair of Chooks to play in the halves department at Suncorp Stadium. On that June night in 2006, Anasta and Finch were made scapegoats for the team’s crushing loss and were subsequently dropped.
Maloney and Pearce will be hoping that there is no repeat next Wednesday night. Also this time around, the Roosters are in good form, unlike the class of 2006 which would eventually just avoid the wooden spoon.
Daly Cherry-Evans versus Josh Reynolds
We got to see a good glimpse of both players last Friday night as Manly and the Bulldogs fought out a golden point thriller at Brookvale Oval.
Now, they will oppose each other again at Origin level; albeit, both players will start on the bench. After Reynolds wasn’t even spotted in the first game, he will be desperate for some game time at Suncorp Stadium.
The verdict
Queensland will be under the utmost pressure to level the series, but they have done it twice before – in 2006 and 2008, and both times they have gone on to win the series.
The Maroons have also not lost a Game II in Brisbane since 2000.
Prediction
Queensland by 14 points.
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