Match day guide and preview for State of Origin Game II 2021 between Queensland and New South Wales.
Who, when and where?
Queensland Maroons vs New South Wales Blues
Sunday 27 June, 7.50pm
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
A limited amount of tickets have become available due to a number of NSW residents unable to attend because of the recent border closures. Click here to buy tickets.
Head-to-head record: Match wins: QLD 64 – 54 NSW | Series wins: QLD 23 – 15 NSW
Team selection
| Queensland | NSW | |
| Valentine Holmes | 1 | James Tedesco |
| Xavier Coates | 2 | Brian To’o |
| Kurt Capewell | 3 | Latrell Mitchell |
| Dane Gagai | 4 | Tom Trbojevic |
| Kyle Feldt | 5 | Josh Addo-Carr |
| Cameron Munster | 6 | Jarome Luai |
| Daly Cherry-Evans | 7 | Nathan Cleary |
| Christian Welch | 8 | Daniel Saifiti |
| Andrew McCullough | 9 | Damien Cook |
| Josh Papalii | 10 | Junior Paulo |
| Jai Arrow | 11 | Cameron Murray |
| Felise Kaufusi | 12 | Tariq Sims |
| Tino Fa’asuamaleaui | 13 | Isaah Yeo |
| Bench | Bench | |
| Ben Hunt | 14 | Jack Wighton |
| Moeaki Fotuaika | 15 | Angus Crichton |
| David Fifita | 16 | Payne Haas |
| Francis Molo | 17 | Liam Martin |
| Reserves | Reserves | |
| Coen Hess | 18 | Apisai Koroisau |
| 19 | Campbell Graham | |
| 20 | Dale Finucane | |
| Coach | Coach | |
| Paul Green | Brad Fittler |
Paul Green has made a number few changes to the Queensland side after their flogging in Game I.
18-year-old rookie sensation Reece Walsh was selected at fullback in the initial side but has been ruled out with a hamsrtring injury sustained during the captain’s run. Ronaldo Mulitalo was initially named to come into the side for Walsh but was ruled out after NSW launched a protest into his eligibility to play for Queensland. It means axed winger Xavier Coates comes back into the side on the wing.
Josh Papalii is back from suspension and provides a huge boost to the front row while Francis Molo comes onto the bench with Joe Ofahengaue and Jaydn Su’A dropped.
With Harry Grant and Reed Mahoney out injured, Andrew McCullough will start at hooker with Ben Hunt on the bench as the utility in place of AJ Brimson.
After a quiet series opener, David Fifita has been relegated to the bench with Jai Arrow to start in the second row.
Conversely, Brad Fittler has made just the one change to his NSW side after losing Jake Trobjevic to injury.
They have a pretty handy replacement though with Angus Crichton coming onto the bench and Junior Paulo to start in the front row.
Game I recap
Despite Queensland gaining a home crowd advantage for the series opener in Townsville, the Blues dominated proceedings to claim their biggest ever Origin victory, 50-6.
The Blues got on top early and were relentless for the full 80 minutes, with Tom Trbojevic the chief destroyer, scoring a hat-trick in the centres.
NSW controlled the entire game with their back five the stars of the show. Tedesco, To’o, Mitchell, Trbojevic and Addo-Carr combined to score seven of the eight tries and 928 run metres.
The Panthers halves pairing of Cleary and Luai barely put a foot wrong all game, although their job was made easier by how dominant the rest of the side was.
Remarkably, NSW only had 51% of possession which doesn’t reflect their dominance. However, they did win plenty of other stats, most notably line breaks (10 – 1), tackle breaks (52 – 31) and all run metres (1,841 – 1,261) which better reflects how good they were.
Last 5 meetings at Suncorp Stadium
- 2020 Game III: QLD 20 – 14 NSW
- 2019 Game I: QLD 18 – 14 NSW
- 2018 Game III: QLD 18 – 12NSW
- 2017 Game III: QLD 22 – 6 NSW
- 2017 Game I: QLD 4 – 28 NSW
Even though the Maroons era of dominance ended in 2017, they’ve still maintained their strong home ground advantage, winning the last four matches in Brisbane.
The Blues won the series in both 2018 and 2019 but couldn’t win up in Brisbane. Their dominant 28-4 victory in 2017 is their only win at the ground in their last eight meetings there. However, this year’s NSW team may be the best we’ve seen in a long time and won’t hold any fears heading to Suncorp.
Pre match predictions
Reece’s Pieces: Reece Walsh to record a try assist in his Origin debut. – Denholm Samaras
Centre stage: Tom Trbojevic and Latrell Mitchell to carve up again with two tries and two try assists between them. – Denholm Samaras
Cherry on top: Daly Cherry-Evans to kick the match-winning field goal to ice the win.
Brian Tw’o: Brain To’o to score another double for the Blues.
Other match day information
The match will be broadcast live nationally on the Nine Network and 9Now, Sky Sport in New Zealand and WatchNRL internationally.
The Live entertainment will feature local Brisbane band, Sheppard.
The Ampol Women’s State of Origin will be played at Sunshine Coast Stadium on Friday, June 25. Click here for tickets.
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