With around an hour to go until kick-off, the State of Origin teams have been locked by both the Maroons and Blues.
Matt Gillett was ruled out with a groin injury yesterday, and Kevin Walters has finally revealed what his side will look like in the veteran’s absence.
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Ethan Lowe will make his debut in the starting second row, despite rumours he’d begin his first Origin on the bench with David Fifita in the run-on side. Fifita will start on the bench, as was named last Monday.
The Queenslanders have also swung a late swap in the backline. Michael Morgan, who has played centre for both games of the series so far, has been replaced in the run-on side by Moses Mbye to give the Maroons someone with some more familiarity in the backs. Morgan will start on the bench as the side’s utility.
Dylan Napa is the side’s 18th man.
The Blues field an almost unchanged side from Game 2, having blown the Maroons out of the water in Perth by 32 points to keep the series alive. Tariq Sims and Nathan Cleary are out through suspension and injury respectively, with David Klemmer and Mitchell Pearce coming into the team.
In a switch announced yesterday, Klemmer will start at prop despite initially being named on the bench, with Paul Vaughan shifting to the reserves. Other than that, New South Wales will line up 1-17.
| NSW | Number | Queensland |
|---|---|---|
| James Tedesco (vc) | 1. | Cameron Munster |
| Blake Ferguson | 2. | Corey Oates |
| Tom Trbojevic | 3/14 | Moses Mbye |
| Jack Wighton | 4. | Will Chambers |
| Josh Addo-Carr | 5. | Dane Gagai |
| James Maloney | 6. | Corey Norman |
| Mitchell Pearce | 7. | Daly Cherry-Evans (c) |
| Daniel Saifiti | 8. | Joe Ofahengaue |
| Damien Cook | 9. | Ben Hunt |
| David Klemmer | 15/10 | Josh Papalii |
| Boyd Cordner (c) | 11. | Felise Kaufusi |
| Tyson Frizell | 12/18 | Ethan Lowe |
| Jake Trbojevic | 13. | Josh McGuire |
| Bench | ||
| Dale Finucane | 14/3 | Michael Morgan |
| Paul Vaughan | 10/15 | Christian Welch |
| Cameron Murray | 16. | Tim Glasby |
| Wade Graham | 17. | David Fifita |
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
Unfortunately I agree , but as EJ says Turbo moves around much it may fall to other people to tackle him.
Insider
Roar Rookie
Turbo will smoke Mbye,
drazen miljanovic
Guest
is it sell out
Hard Yards
Roar Rookie
Yep, I don’t see this as a foregone conclusion at all. qld will be great tonight.
eagleJack
Roar Guru
No doubt jimmmy. Although the way Turbo moves around the burden will fall onto multiple players. But gotta say I’m very nervous about the over-confidence many have that this game is a foregone conclusion. Perfectly setup for a Maroons ambush
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
Mbye is going to have busier night looking after Turbo, EJ.
john
Guest
Slight correction, you have Michael Morgan in the QLD team twice.
eagleJack
Roar Guru
Morgan has a busy night. Starting at centre AND on the bench.