This weekend, in the first State of Origin match to be played on a Sunday since 2001, New South Wales will have the chance to wrap up just their second series win since 2005.
Queensland will look to force a series decider on their home soil but will have to do so in front of 80,000 NSW fans.
Having won the first game by 22-12 in Game I at the MCG, the Blues are in pole position to claim the series with a win at home, but they will not want to get ahead of themselves after being in this position twelve months ago.
In the corresponding game last year, the Blues played too defensively and a crucial error in the final ten minutes saw the match turn the Maroons’ way. They went on to win it, and eventually captured their eleventh series in twelve years.
That capitulation cost Laurie Daley his job after overseeing four series defeats in his five years as coach, but at least he was able to put an end to eight straight series defeats when the Blues won their most recent series in 2014.
Now, Blues coach Brad Fittler will be keen to ensure the side does not repeat the same mistake as last year, and with a young and enthusiastic squad, will be out to continue their winning ways in front of over 80,000 Blues fans at ANZ Stadium on Sunday night.
Brad Fittler (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
His decision to overhaul the side which had lost Game III last year paid off handsomely, with James Tedesco producing a man-of-the-match performance and the halves, James Maloney and Nathan Cleary, duplicating their club form with the Panthers in the State of Origin arena.
Of the eleven debutants Fittler blooded, three of them, Latrell Mitchell, Tom Trbojevic and Josh Addo-Carr, all scored crucial second half tries as the Blues turned a narrow 8-6 half-time lead into a convincing 22-12 victory.
From the side that was victorious at the MCG, there is only one change, with Dragons and Sharks premiership forward Matt Prior to make his Origin debut at the age of 31.
He comes in for Reagan Campbell-Gillard, who suffered a jaw injury in the Panthers’ 32-6 loss to the Roosters at Allianz Stadium last Friday night. Latrell Mitchell, who suffered a neck injury in that match, will also take his place in the side after being cleared of any serious damage.
Having become the fourth consecutive man after Graham Murray, Craig Bellamy and Laurie Daley in 2006, 2008 and 2013 respectively to win his debut match as Blues coach, Fittler will be hoping to go one better than the trio and become the first rookie coach to win a series since Ricky Stuart in 2005 (he lost his first match, but engineered a 2-1 series victory that year).
Here is the 17 that coach Brad Fittler has named:
James Tedesco, Tom Trbojevic, Latrell Mitchell, James Roberts, Josh Addo-Carr, James Maloney, Nathan Cleary, David Klemmer, Damien Cook, Matt Prior, Boyd Cordner (c), Tyson Frizell, Jack de Belin. Interchange: Paul Vaughan, Jake Trbojevic, Angus Crichton, Tyrone Peachey.
In: Matt Prior. Out: Reagan Campbell-Gillard
We now switch our focus to the Maroons, who have made several changes to their side with Billy Slater to return to the side at fullback after a hamstring injury prevented him from taking his place at the MCG.
Slater replaces Michael Morgan, who will miss the rest of the NRL season after picking up a bicep injury in the Cowboys’ loss to the Warriors at home last Friday night.
The Storm fullback, who turned 35 earlier this week, has announced his intentions to step away from representative football at the end of the series, and this will give the Maroons the incentive to win Game II and therefore force a decider at Suncorp which they would be heavily favoured to win.
Billy Slater is (almost certainly) back for Origin 2 (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
His inclusion in the side is crucial; apart from Morgan’s injury, state stalwart Darius Boyd is unavailable for selection after also announcing his immediate retirement from representative football.
Another Maroons series victory, which would mark the second consecutive year they’ve done so after dropping the opening game, would be the perfect farewell gift for a man who has done so much for the state, including that try in the second game in 2004 which is constantly replayed year after year.
Knights sensation Kalyn Ponga will make his Origin debut, with Anthony Milford making way after the Broncos five-eighth made little impact in the Maroons’ Game I defeat.
Ponga has enjoyed a breakout season for the Newcastle Knights after transferring from the North Queensland Cowboys at the end of last year. He has been seen as the successor to Billy Slater in the Maroons’ backline, given his speed and skills with the football.
Milford’s omission is the only unforced change coach Kevin Walters has had to make, as the Maroons fight to keep the series alive behind enemy lines.
Again, Cameron Munster and Ben Hunt will start in the halves, while doubts hover over prop Dylan Napa who is set to be tested at training this week.
Here is the 17 that Walters has named:
Billy Slater, Valentine Holmes, Greg Inglis, Will Chambers, Dane Gagai, Cameron Munster, Ben Hunt, Dylan Napa, Andrew McCullough, Jarrod Wallace, Gavin Cooper, Felise Kaufusi, Josh McGuire. Interchange: Kalyn Ponga, Josh Papalii, Coen Hess, Jai Arrow.
In: Billy Slater, Kalyn Ponga. Out: Michael Morgan, Anthony Milford.
So, there are the teams, and each state will have an incentive to win for varying reasons.
For the Blues, while the opportunity to close out the series in front of their home fans is there, they’ll want to be more focused and committed to the task at hand after playing to defend their lead, rather than play to win, in the corresponding game last year.
They had led by ten points at half-time and were still leading in the final ten minutes when a wayward pass from Jarryd Hayne on the half-way line saw the ball turned over, following which the Maroons scored the match-winning try through Dane Gagai.
The northerners eventually took the momentum with them to Suncorp last year, winning the deciding game 22-6 and therefore securing their eleventh series win in the past twelve years.
The Maroons find themselves in the same position twelve months on, and therefore know the task at hand if they are to prevail in enemy territory and set up a winnable decider at home.
However, despite the return of Billy Slater into the side, Kevin Walters’ men will start underdogs against a side eager to clinch just their second series win since 2005.
But should the Blues win on Sunday night, captain Boyd Cordner will have to wait until July 11 to lift the shield at what will be a near-empty Suncorp Stadium, where the only remnants after the final whistle would be the Blues fans travelling up to Brisbane for the third game.
Boyd Cordner of the NSW Blues. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
So, all is set for what should be a fascinating second State of Origin match. Can the Blues wrap up the series with a win in front of their home fans, or will the Maroons repeat what they did against all the odds last year?
We will all wait to see with anticipation.
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