State Of Origin: New South Wales face Queensland in Sydney opener
Last Updated: 01/06/16 10:29am
The 35th State of Origin series will commence on Wednesday at the ANZ Stadium in Sydney, where New South Wales and Queensland will continue one of Australia's greatest sporting rivalries (kick-off 11am BST).
Queensland are looking to retain the Shield, while New South Wales will want to banish the painful memories of Origin Three last year and start the 2016 series on a winning note.
Kevin Walters has the task of stepping into shoes of Mal Meninga and the 48-year-old knows that there's enormous pressure on him. Meninga famously led Queensland to nine series wins in 10 years and it's Walters' task to ensure that this impressive record continues.
Walters has selected a settled side including Johnathan Thurston, who will line up for his 34th consecutive State of Origin match, and six players that were part of their victorious series a decade ago.
Despite this wealth of experience, injuries to Billy Slater and Will Chambers alongside Justin Hodges' retirement has caused a reshuffle to the backline that dismantled New South Wales 52-6 in Origin Three last year.
Darius Boyd and Greg Inglis will switch positions with two debutants arriving in the backline; North Queensland's Justin O'Neill and Brisbane's Corey Oates.
Leading into game day, Cooper Cronk's fitness remains a question mark after he rolled his ankle in training. If he's unable to take to the field, it would be a big blow for Queensland. Michael Morgan is on standby and the decision is being left until the last minute.
New South Wales coach Laurie Daley and his side will aim to make home advantage count and take the first step towards recording only their second series victory in the last 11 years.
Daley has included five debutants in his training squad and will hand Origin debuts to four of them at the ANZ Stadium; Matt Moylan, Josh Mansour, Adam Reynolds and Dylan Walker.
Reynolds forms part of a new halves pairing with James Maloney, as both Mitchell Pearce and Trent Hodkinson are left out.
Maloney's form has been a key part in driving the Cronulla Sharks to the top of the NRL and he'll need to embrace his first Origin outing to ensure that New South Wales gain the control required to take the opening outing.
New South Wales: 1 Matt Moylan, 2 Blake Ferguson, 3 Michael Jennings, 4 Josh Morris, 5 Josh Mansour, 6 James Maloney, 7 Adam Reynolds, 8 Aaron Woods, 9 Robbie Farah, 10 Paul Gallen (c), 11 Boyd Cordner, 12 Josh Jackson, 13 Greg Bird.
Interchange: 14 Dylan Walker, 15 James Tamou, 16 David Klemmer, 17 Andrew Fifita.
Queensland: 1 Darius Boyd, 2 Corey Oates, 3 Greg Inglis, 4 Justin O'Neill, 5 Dane Gagai, 6 Johnathan Thurston, 7 Cooper Cronk, 8 Matt Scott, 9 Cameron Smith (c), 10 Nate Myles, 11 Matt Gillett, 12 Sam Thaiday, 13 Corey Parker.
Interchange: 14 Michael Morgan, 15 Josh McGuire, 16 Aidan Guerra, 17 Josh Papalii.