Game I of the men’s State of Origin series is set to kick off in Sydney on Wednesday, 5 June as Queensland comes into the game defending a two-year winning streak against NSW.
Kick-off times on Nine and 9Now:
• 8:05 pm AEST: ACT, New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria
• 7:35 pm ACST: Northern Territory, South Australia
• 6:05 pm AWST: Western Australia
New Blues coach Michael Maguire named six debutants for his squad, and caused chatter when he looked over James Tedesco to give Panthers fullback Dylan Edwards a start.
However, following a hamstring injury, Edwards was ruled out of the game, meaning Tedesco is back in the no. 1 jersey.
Blues Game I Lineup:
1. James Tedesco 2. Brian To’o 3. Stephen Crichton 4. Joseph Suaalii 5. Zac Lomax 6. Jarome Luai 7. Nicho Hynes 8. Jake Trbojevic (c) 9. Reece Robson 10. Payne Haas 11. Liam Martin 12. Angus Crichton 13. Cameron McInnes 14. Isaah Yeo 15. Haumole Olaukau’atu 16. Spencer Leniu 17 Hudson Young 18. Matt Burton 19. Luke Keary 20. Mitch Barnett. Coach: Michael Maguire
Maroons Game I Lineup:
1. Reece Walsh 2. Xavier Coates 3. Valentine Holmes 4. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow 5. Murray Taulagi 6. Tom Dearden 7. Daly Cherry-Evans (c) 8. Reuben Cotter 9. Ben Hunt 10. Lindsay Collins 11. Jaydn Su’a 12. Jeremiah Nanai 13. Patrick Carrigan 14. Harry Grant 15. Moeaki Fotuaika 16. J’Maine Hopgood 17. Selwyn Cobbo 18. Felise Kaufusi 19. Brendan Piakura 20. Ezra Mam. Coach: Billy Slater
1,981,000 tuned in last year to watch Game I, which saw QLD claim victory, beating NSW 26-18.
Queensland great Paul Vautin called it the “greatest win of all time”. “This Origin game gets better every year,” the commentator said in a post-match wrap-up.
The game started strong with a try by QLD’s Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow in the 9th minute. By the end of the second half, and with only 12 minutes to go, the Maroons became a man down when prop Tom Flegler was sin-binned for a high shot on Blues centre Tom Trbojevic.
With the score 18-16 to the Blues and one less player, the Maroons managed to make a comeback, cementing a Game I win.
The other State of Origin matches:
• Game II: Wednesday, June 26, at the MCG
• Game III: Wednesday, July 17, at Brisbane’s Lang Park