The State of Origin shield is on the line in the wild west on Wednesday night when Queensland try to deny NSW the honour of keeping it in their possession for another 12 months.
NSW dominated the series opener to record an 18-6 triumph last month at Suncorp Stadium and are overwhelming favourites to take out the second match in Perth before they get to play in Sydney in the final match.
Despite the loss of Mitchell Barnett and Mitchell Moses due to injury, the Blues are still fielding an almighty squad at Optus Stadium.
Maroons coach Billy Slater has made changes as he tries to avoid a second straight series loss with Cameron Munster taking over from Daly Cherry-Evans as captain and Tom Dearden inheriting the No.7 jersey from the Manly veteran.
Kickoff is at 8:05pm (AEST) and the Roar experts have taken a crack at how the game will pan out.
Paul Suttor (The Roar expert)
Blues by 2
First Try Scorer – Brian To’o
Player of the Match – Angus Crichton
NSW had all the answers in game one and with a relatively settled side they should be able to achieve the rare feat of ensuring the series win with a match to spare.
Don’t rule out the Maroons taking this game down to the wire – it shouldn’t be the cakewalk that many Blues fans expect.
Mary Konstantopoulos (Ladies Who League)
Blues by 12
First Try Scorer – Zac Lomax
Player of the Match – Jarome Luai
Even with the late inclusion of Jarome Luai, the Blues remain the better team in almost every single position. The Maroons had no answers for the Blues dominance and in the couple of weeks since Origin I, I don’t think they have found any.
Nathan Cleary. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Tim Gore (The Roar expert)
Blues by 22
First Try Scorer – Stephen Crichton
Player of the Match – Dylan Edwards
Queensland didn’t get beaten badly enough in game one in order to realise a bigger overhaul of their squad was required. The result of game two should bring that about for game three.
Mike Meehall Wood (Love Rugby League)
Blues by 13+
First Try Scorer – Latrell Mitchell
Player of the Match – Nathan Cleary
I was the only person to pick Queensland last time, partly as contrarianism against the NSW mainstream but also because they picked Daly Cherry-Evans. As the only true non-partisan (Origin is an Ashes warm-up), my only loyalty is to the truth and the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.
Now Manly have no representation, and Queensland have picked an even worse team than in game one, I’ll happily switch sides to the Blues. Moreover, the Maroons’ record in the West is horrendous, while Nathan Cleary’s record there is incredibly good.
It won’t be surprising to see another clean sweep from the panel for NSW, and as much as Queenslanders will say that such poo-pooing is exactly how they like it. That can be some form of succour when they get flogged on Wednesday night.
For the sake of the series I hope I’m wrong, but Origin is basically all about NSW’s high ceiling v the Maroons’ high floor. I don’t have great faith in either coach, but I do have faith in the players involved on both sides. If NSW get going, it’ll be a bloodbath.
AJ Mithen (The Roar expert)
Blues by 29
First Try Scorer – Latrell Mitchell
Man of the Match – Nathan Cleary
With Billy Slater all over the place this will be a bloodbath, with a disrespectful field goal thrown in for good measure.
Nathan Cleary will get player of the game even though he won’t be too great, they just love him when the Blues win.
Kalyn Ponga. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
David Shilovsky (The Roar expert)
Blues by 12
First Try Scorer – Zac Lomax
Man of the Match – Stephen Crichton
I’m intrigued by the Munster experiment but I think the Melbourne star’s impact won’t make much difference as the Blues can smell blood. I’m expecting big games from both NSW centres as they retain the shield.
Matt Russell (The Roar expert)
Blues by 22
First Try Scorer – Zac Lomax
Player of the Match – Nathan Cleary
It’s must-win for Queensland, so normally I would pick a close game, but with the reshuffle in the halves losing the experience of DCE, the new attack led by Tom Dearden may take some time to gel – it’s a huge role to step into with the series on the line.
With one win already in the bag, lifting the series pressure, the Blues should be given a licence to attack with more freedom and rack up some points. Cleary’s goal kicking should not let him down twice in a row.
Stuart Thomas (The Roar expert)
Blues by 49
First Try Scorer – Brian To’o
Player of the Match – Nathan Cleary
Spencer Leniu is in the Maroons’ heads. They are mentally fried and this will be the most lopsided Origin series on record. Munster implodes as captain and the Blues go bananas in Perth.
