STATE OF ORIGIN II PREVIEW: New South Wales vs Queensland
With Origin II just one sleep away, fans will be counting down the hours until kick off this Wednesday night.
A loss to the Maroons might decide the future of some elder statesmen in their side, bringing to an end the great Queensland era.
LAST TIME OUT
The Blues came out absolutely firing against QLD, defeating them 28-4 at Suncorp Stadium in Game I on Wednesday 31st of May.
The monumental win will play a huge role for the Blues and assist with their confidence heading into game two in front of over an expected 75,000 mostly NSW fans. Jarryd Hayne, James Tedesco and Nathan Peats all played significant roles within the side with James Maloney also impressing with his conversions kicking 4 out of 5 attempts.
The QLD have made multiple changes into their side after they lost by 24 points in front of a home crowd with drastic changes made. QLD Coach Kev Walters opted to drop Sam Thaiday, Aidan Guerra, Corey Oates, Justin O’Neill, Nate Myles and Jacob Lillyman.
QLD favourites Johnathan Thurston (injury) and Billy Slater (not selected) will return after missing Origin I.
KEY BATTLE
A key battle throughout this game will be between QLD rookie Tim Glasby and NSW young gun Jake Trbojevic.
Tim Glasby has been under Craig Bellamy’s coaching since 2013 (which would already be a tick of approval from Kev Walters). With five years of experience under Bellamy’s coaching, 76 NRL games under his belt and a total of 8 tries, no-one deserves a QLD jersey than Glasby.
Jake Trbojevic has also been playing first grade games since 2013 with 60 appearances and 11 tries. The determined forward has been crucial for Manly this year and will look to cement his spot in the NSW origin game if he can assist his side to victory on Wednesday night. Jake Trbojevic has the upper hand in the battle against Tim Glasby after experiencing victory in the first game, contributing 87 minutes and 23 tackles in his 45 minutes on the field for the blues.
PREDICTION
NSW will be looking to impress in front of a home crowd but QLD will be out to get revenge after an unusual performance in game I. It will be a very close game, battle of the forwards, with a terrific finish and NSW to win by 4.
SQUADS
NSW Blues 1. James Tedesco 2. Blake Ferguson 3. Josh Dugan 4. Jarryd Hayne 5. Brett Morris 6. James Maloney 7. Mitchell Pearce 8. Aaron Woods 9. Nathan Peats 10. Andrew Fifita 11. Josh Jackson 12. Boyd Cordner 13. Tyson Frizell Interchange 14. David Klemmer 15. Wade Graham 16. Jake Trbojevic 17. Jack Bird Reserves 18. Matt Moylan 19. Jack de Belin 20. Tom Trbojevic
QLD Maroons 1. Billy Slater 2. Valentine Holmes 3. Will Chambers 4. Darius Boyd 5. Dane Gagai 6. Johnathan Thurston 7. Coooper Cronk 8. Dylan Napa 9. Cameron Smith 10. Jarrod Wallace 11. Gavin Cooper 12. Matt Gillett 13. Josh McGuire Interchange 14. Michael Morgan 15. Josh Papalii 16. Coen Hess 17. Tim Glasby Reserves 18. Cameron Munster
