After months of speculation, Michael Maguire and Billy Slater have finally unveiled their squads for this year’s State of Origin series opener.
Both coaches made some huge calls, with the omission of James Tedesco from the NSW lineup sending shockwaves through the game.
Maguire also named six debutants – including premiership winner Dylan Edwards and union-bound star Joseph Suaalii – to take on the Maroons on June 5.
Up north, Queensland have kept the nucleus of their successful team together, but Slater opted to axe back-rower David Fifita in a controversial decision.
Cameron Munster’s absence has also opened the door for a fresh face to wear the No.6 jumper, while the in-form Selwyn Cobbo will fill an unfamiliar role at Accor Stadium.
As always, there were winners and losers from both team selections. Wide World of Sports breaks down who was lucky to be picked and who was unlucky to miss out.
NSW Blues
1. Dylan Edwards 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 Olakau’atu 16. Spencer Leniu 17. Hudson Young
Every NSW Blues player picked for 2024 series: Dylan Edwards and Joseph Suaalii headline new-look squad
Winners
The new skipper of the Blues side is Manly fan-favourite Jake Trbojevic, who missed the first two games of last year’s losing series for NSW due to injury.
While it could be a little harsh to say Trbojevic was ‘lucky’ to be selected given his experience and toughness, his numbers don’t stack up compared to plenty of other eligible middle-forwards and his lack of speed or power is a bit of a concern at this level.
The 30-year-old is a workhorse and that’s not always a bad thing to have in your team – but NSW is lacking some genuine punch through the middle and are a genuine prop short in the 17-man team Maguire selected on Sunday night.
One of those front-rowers selected is Roosters firebrand Spencer Leniu, who has missed a large majority of the season due to suspension, but managed to do enough over the past three weeks of NRL action to impress Maguire and the selectors.
Leniu’s former teammate at the Panthers, Jarome Luai, seemingly had a red line put through his name when it came to state of Origin last year, but has snuck back in given the injuries to Nathan Cleary and Mitchell Moses.
Another player who is extremely lucky to be in the side is Reece Robson, who struggled in his first series in the Blues team and many believed his spot at hooker should have belonged to someone else – perhaps Api Koroisau or Blayke Brailey.
Isaah Yeo has been pushed back to the bench in favour of Cameron McInnes and the Penrith skipper can count himself lucky to even be there, with the injury to Cameron Murray a number of weeks ago ruling the Rabbitohs lock-forward out for the series.
The 29-year-old is a fine player and leader, but the Blues played their best football in last year’s series when Murray was at lock and Yeo isn’t exactly an impact player, so having him come off the bench feels a little out of place.
Joseph Suaalii and Zac Lomax got the nod over some more experienced outside backs in a risky move from Maguire, with the defensive woes of the Roosters star at centre and the error-riddled tendencies of the Dragons flyer coming under the microscope.
Losers
The biggest casualty from the coaching change and new outlook for the Blues is former captain James Tedesco, who was axed in favour of Dylan Edwards for the opener.
Tedesco had been a constant figure in the NSW side throughout the entirety of Brad Fittler’s reign as coach, but was left out by Maguire in a surprise call, especially given his electric form at club level this year for the Roosters.
Api Koroisau was the other notable omission that left plenty of people shocked, with the likes of James Graham and Chris Lawrence calling out the selection decision.
Despite playing in one of the worst teams in the NRL, Koroisau is a consistent performer and is regarded by many as the most creative dummy-half in the competition.
The outside backs was a contentious area for the Blues and given the lack of X-factor out wide, the omissions of Josh Addo-Carr and Latrell Mitchell could come back to haunt Maguire should his team struggle to score points.
The Foxx has been performing well for the Bulldogs this season and would bring some much-needed pace to the NSW team, while Mitchell is a proven big-game player and has dominated the State of Origin arena before.
The issues with the middle-forward rotation mentioned above is why it was strange not to see a player like Terrell May or Taniela Paseka earn a call-up to the side, while the efforts from Jack de Belin this season have gone widely unnoticed, with his numbers on a week-to-week basis far outweighing what Trbojevic offers for Manly in a similar role.
Queensland Maroons
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. Pat Carrigan 14. Harry Grant 15. Moeaki Fotuaika 16. J’Maine Hopgood 17. Selwyn Cobbo
Winners
It’s a little tougher to dig into the Maroons team selected for the series opener, with the side winning the past two series under head coach Slater.
However, there were a handful of players that could have easily been left out.
Jeremiah Nanai, for all his brilliance, hasn’t dominated the way many hoped he would for the Cowboys this season, but managed to hold his spot in the back-row as one of the most destructive players in the NRL was overlooked.
Some of Nanai’s Cowboys teammates – Valentine Holmes and Murray Taulagi – were also quite lucky to be selected in the starting lineup over the in-form Selwyn Cobbo.
Holmes has been inconsistent in 2024 but has turned up in Origin before and blown NSW off the park, while Taulagi spent over a month sidelined with a hamstring injury.
It wasn’t a major surprise to see Tom Dearden get the nod at five-eighth over Ezra Mam for the first game of the series, replacing Cameron Munster, but there was a genuine case to be made for the Broncos livewire to be called up for an Origin debut.
The other player who showed enough to the selectors this year, despite the struggles of his team, is Parramatta lock-forward J’maine Hopgood.
The 25-year-old has toiled hard and adds a point of difference through the middle of the field, with his inclusion on the bench a smart one for Queensland.
Losers
The man everyone was talking about on Monday morning when the team was unveiled was David Fifita, who is fresh off a bizarre contract saga which saw him sign with the Roosters and then backflip days later to remain at the Titans.
On the field however, the powerhouse edge forward has been strong in an under-performing Gold Coast outfit and his numbers are superior to some other back-rowers selected by the Maroons for the series opener, despite an ongoing narrative that Fifita is ‘lazy’ and doesn’t have the effort plays in him to be a consistent superstar.
As mentioned above, Ezra Mam narrowly missed out on a spot in the No.6 jumper, but will travel with the squad as injury cover and could force his way in later in the series.
The forgotten man in the race to replace Munster was young gun Sam Walker, who plays halfback at club football but would have brought immense X-factor, game-breaking ability and individual brilliance, which will be missing with the Storm enigma absent.
Veterans such as Dane Gagai and Jai Arrow could have been selected for the Maroons – especially given some of their injury concerns – but were overlooked again, while enforcers such as Francis Molo and Corey Jensen wouldn’t have looked out of place.