It is that time of year again. The weather is chilly and State of Origin is right around the corner, with Game One of the 2024 series set to kick off next week.
Fresh from successive series losses in 2022 and 2023, New South Wales will be looking to kick start the Michael Maguire era with a bang on home turf. Though their task won’t be easy. Despite injuries, Billy Slater’s Maroons hold the Shield and will be looking to make it three series wins in a row in 2024.
Here, foxsports.com.au runs you through everything you need to know ahead of Game One of the 2024 State of Origin series.
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Match preview
As is always the case with State of Origin, Game One of the 2024 series promises to be nothing short of an intensely physical encounter. New South Wales coach Michael Maguire has ushered in a new era for the New South Wales Blues with his selections, initially naming six debutants – Dylan Edwards, Cameron McInnes, Joseph Suaali’i, Zac Lomac, Spencer Leniu and Haumole Olaukau’atu – and an entirely new spine for Game One.
Edwards though was later ruled out with a quad issue, which saw incumbent fullback James Tedesco brought back into the team.
Maguire’s made no secret about the character he wants his side to possess, with hard-work and physicality a defining quality of many of the new faces in New South Wales’ squad.
The state’s back five are physically imposing and tireless, particularly coming out of their own end. Tedesco and Brian To’o are the two best yardage outside backs in the NRL, while Lomax, Stephen Crichton and Suaali’i are all big bodies averaging over 100 running metres per game.
In the forwards, new captain Jake Trbojevic and Cronulla Sharks middle Cameron McInnes personify everything Maguire desires from his Blues: hard-working, industrious and deeply passionate. Meanwhile, New South Wales’ four forward bench is as powerful as they are skillful.
Standing in the way of a Blues series opener victory is a typically formidable Queensland side. Despite Cameron Munster’s absence after re-aggravating a groin injury and David Fifita’s shock omission, Queensland possess more than enough firepower to trouble the Blues.
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Star hooker Harry Grant is always a nuisance around the ruck, while Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Reece Walsh have the pace and flair to break a game open from anywhere on the field. A potential headache for the Blues revolves around Slater’s use of Selwyn Cobbo off the bench.
In previous years the likes of Kalyn Ponga, Daly Cherry-Evans and Cooper Cronk have featured off the bench for Queensland. Cobbo will be no different, with Slater alluding to this on NRL 360 on Monday night.
“He’s [Cobbo] just one of those players that you want out on the field,” Slater said.
“We will build a bit of a plan how to inject him into the game if he’s not needed in the outside backs [as cover].”
With both sides possessing new look halves combinations, points will likely be at a premium, as is always the case in Game One. This could make for a game of attrition lacking the quickened tempo fans have grown accustomed to in the modern NRL, with sides prioritising tightened defences in the Series opener.
When & where
Game I – Wednesday, June 5, Accor Stadium, 8:05 pm kick off (AEST)
Game II – Wednesday June 26, the MCG, 8:05 pm kick off (AEST)
Game III – Wednesday July 17, Suncorp Stadium, 8:05 pm kick off (AEST)
Origin I teams
*Final teams to be confirmed one hour before kick-off.
NSW Blues: 1. James Tedesco 2. Brian To’o 3. Stephen Crichton 4. Joseph Suaali’I 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
QLD 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. 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
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ANY MAJOR SELECTION CALLS?
NSW: As mentioned, Michael Maguire’s first NSW team includes five debutants, almost all of whom have staked their Origin claim impressively throughout 2024. With Nathan Cleary and Mitchell Moses both ruled out of contention, Maguire had no choice but to go with Nicho Hynes, though some may argue his Round 12 outing against Penrith show he’s not ready for Origin.
Perhaps the Maguire decision which has caught the most criticism has been the exclusion of Tigers hooker Api Koroisau. Many expected Koroisau to partner Reece Robson in the side, similar to how QLD utilise Hunt and Grant. Yet, Maguire has opted for Robson as his sole hooker, with Cam McInnes to potential provide cover if need be.
Latrell Mitchell’s omission surprised some, with former Maroons enforcer Gorden Tallis professing on NRL360 that “as a Queenslander I’m sort of happy that Latrell Mitchell is not in the New South Wales side. He’s such a strike weapon.”
QLD: Cameron Munster aside, Queensland’s biggest Game One absentee is Titans back rower, David Fifita. Speaking to media on Monday morning after announcing his Game One side, Slater stated performance played a key part in Fifita’s omission from the squad.
“Dave created a really high standard for his footy last year. He just hasn’t quite got to that standard this year,” Slater said. St George star Jaydn Su’a replaces Fifita on the edge for the Maroons, but the former Rabbitoh doesn’t possess the same game breaking ability as the Titan’s edge.
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KEEP YOUR EYE ON
James Tedesco
The Roosters fullback has a point to prove after three-time premiership winner and Clive Churchill medallist Dylan Edwards was initially selected ahead of him. You would have to think that a Blues victory, provided Tedesco plays well enough, would guarantee the 31-year-old a spot in Game 2.
Otherwise, should Tedesco struggle and NSW go down, you would have to think there will be a growing case for Edwards to be recalled given he was the preferred option in the first place. That, of course, is dependent on just how serious Edwards’ quad strain is.
Selwyn Cobbo
In Game One, Brisbane outside back Selwyn Cobbo will join an illustrious list of Queensland backs utilised in a roaming forward role. At 190 centimetres tall, Cobbo possesses the necessary physical attributes to terrorise a tired NSW halves come Game One. Just five players have broken more tackles than Cobbo in 2024, with his speed and power a nightmare proposition for any defender.
Where Cobbo differs from Ponga, DCE and Cronk in coming off the bench for QLD is his lack of ball-playing. All three of those men operated in the halves or at fullback, with their sleight of hand, as well as their speed around the ruck particularly troubling for tired Origin defences.
Just how this technical difference influences Slater’s thinking will only become known if Cobbo is injected into the middle for Game One.
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BOTH SIDES’ DEBUTANTS
In total, six players will make their State of Origin debuts in Game One of the 2024 series. J’Maine Hopgood from the Maroons and five six aforementioned Blues.
For the Blues, there are shades of the opening clash of the 2018 Origin series, when new coach Brad Fittler named 11 debutants. That night at the MCG saw the Blues run home 22-12 victors with three debutants, Josh Addo-Carr, Latrell Mitchell and Tom Trbojevic finding the scoresheet.
Whether the Blues debutants can emulate the efforts of those in 2018 remains to be seen. Either way, it’s always exciting watching new stars make their first foray into the Origin arena.
For the Maroons, one would expect Slater to instruct Hopgood’s to play his own way off the bench and wreak havoc on the Blues middle defence with his agility around the ruck, subtle ball-playing and some late offloads.
KEY STORYLINES
Will Slater live to rue Fifita’s omission?
On his day, there is arguably no more destructive footballer than David Fifita. No matter the game state, the Titans back rower is able to use his mix of pace and power to break defences open and create space and opportunities for himself or his teammates.
In 2023, Fifita was a mainstay of the Maroons. Without him in the side, does Queensland have another player capable of breaking a game open like Fifita? Jaydn Su’a, who replaces him on the edge, is certainly a fine player, but his skillset is different to Fifita’s.
If New South Wales’ defence is as resolute as Maguire wants it to be, will Slater regret not having Fifita somewhere in his 17 to bring on and wreak havoc?
How big of an impact will Munster’s absence have?
In years gone by, Cameron Munster has often been the man Queensland turned to when the chips are down and momentum is against them. He set the world alight on his Origin debut in 2017 and in 2020 produced a Series for the ages to inspire Queensland to an historic upset.
The Storm five-eighth plays incredibly off the cuff, to the point it often appears as if he doesn’t know his next move. Yet, it somehow works out for the Rockhampton boy. His absence will be hard to compensate for, such is his brilliance.
Cowboys co-captain Tom Dearden is a fine footballer, with a particularly dangerous running, but his game is completely different to Munster. Both Queensland and New South Wales will now this.
After years of Munster terrorizing them, Blues fans will breathe a sigh of relief at his Game One absence. Though rest assured, Billy Slater will have a plan for how to adequately replace his dynamism and creativity.
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How will the Luai/Hynes combination work?
In their last game of club football it was Luai pulling the strings while Hynes had a first half to forget as Penrith ran out 42-0 winners over Cronulla.
Luai was poised and in total control for the entire 80 minutes and the way he has been speaking during Blues camp suggests the Panthers playmaker is embracing his new role as part of the leadership group.
Could that lead to a more prominent role in the halves for Luai, who has usually instead played second fiddle to usual halves partner Nathan Cleary in the Origin arena?
Luai didn’t seem to think so when speaking to reporters at the Blue Mountains last week, suggesting instead what the defence offers them will determine whether it is he or Hynes making the plays.
“What’s in front of us will call the shots. We’re going to be playing eyes up,” Luai said.
“I’ve always looked at [playing five-eighth] as an important role to make sure I’m a genuine option every time.
“Even when Nicho is on one side and I’m on the other, I always want to be a genuine threat to the opposition.”