Queensland is missing rugby league’s most famous face. The Blues have been robbed of their lucky charm. Both enter game one of State of Origin in Sydney on Wednesday night with rookie halves, under new rules set to change how the teams are picked and how the game is played.
It might still be Maroons v Blues, but make no mistake: rugby league’s showpiece looks different this year.
Canberra five-eighth Ethan Strange has been called into the Blues’ starting side for his first Origin appearance. The hard-running, hard-tackling 21-year-old replaces the injured Mitchell Moses, who was crucial to the Blues’ series win in 2024 and their game one triumph last year but has now pulled out due to a hamstring complaint.
NSW coach Laurie Daley said the rookie Strange won’t be fazed by the occasion. “I like the way that he plays and at this level if you’ve got a strong running game and you want to challenge the defence … there’s a lot of fatigue that happens in Origin, so if he just backs his instincts, he’ll play well.”
Queensland coach Billy Slater said his side will adjust to the different challenge posed by the young Raider, but ultimately his team is focused on realising their own potential. That includes fine-tuning a new halves pairing of veteran Cameron Munster – who will play despite being rested for a training session this week – and debutant Sam Walker, the diminutive Roosters’ five-eighth with a reputation as one of NRL’s magicians. “We just want Sam Walker to be Sam Walker,” Slater said. “But we need to play a style that’s going to help him do that, and that’s what we’ve been building over the last week.”
Queensland’s selection of Walker in an experienced spine of Munster, fullback Kalyn Ponga and hooker Harry Grant meant there was no room in Slater’s side for Broncos star Reece Walsh, less than a year out from his heroics both in the grand final and a Kangaroos tour. Walsh’s Brisbane teammate, Ezra Mam, has been named on the bench.
Slater has rejected suggestions there is anything more to Walsh’s omission than form, and said on Tuesday he was excited about the potential of the players he has selected. “[Ponga] does all the little things that the team benefits from, but then he’s got the polish and class on the top of it,” he said. “He’s a wonderful player, I’ve got a very high opinion of Kalyn and look forward to seeing him play.”
Ponga’s opposite number is James Tedesco, the Roosters veteran who has forced his way back into the Blues side at the expense of Panthers’ fullback Dylan Edwards. Tedesco will play his 24th Origin on Wednesday, surpassing Andrew Johns, Jarryd Hayne and his coach on the all-time list. If he plays again in the series, he will rise to third behind only Brad Fittler and Andrew Ettingshausen.
Yet the 2026 series will be defined by a new Origin influx. Manly speedster Tolu Koula will debut on the wing for the Blues, and there is a fresh face at his opposite number: Titan Jojo Fifita. Dolphin Max Plath starts at lock for Queensland, and hooker Blayke Brailey comes off the bench for New South Wales.
The introductions don’t end there. Selection is now open to England and New Zealand representatives, as long as they spent a part of their childhood in either state. Prop Addin Fonua-Blake, a one-time New Zealand representative who grew up in Mascot will start for the Blues. Backrower Victor Radley, the Clovelly junior who has played for England and Kiwi centre Casey McLean will come off the Blues’ bench. Queensland have named edge forward Briton Nikora, another Kiwi, at interchange.
But perhaps the greatest change to Origin this year will be around the coaches’ bench strategies. Following the NRL’s lead this season, State of Origin benches are now six players, although only four of them can be used, and only across eight total interchanges.
Slater said it has meant they can now “cover all bases” in case of injury or send-offs, but he promised there will still be strategies around how they are used. “We all know Origin is fatiguing, and that’s going to be no different [on Wednesday] night, so you’ve got to be supporting the people who need those rests, and then you’ve got to be allocating for contingencies that may arise. So there’s a lot of thought that goes into it, and there’s a bit of a plan, but at the same time, things can move and change.”
Despite the extended bench, Daley raised eyebrows when he brought in Matt Burton at interchange following the withdrawal of Moses – a second traditional halfback alongside No 7 Nathan Cleary – and promotion of Strange. Strange and Burton are not known as organising five-eighths.
The lack of backup for Cleary heaps pressure on the Panthers maestro, who many believe has still yet to conquer State of Origin to the same degree he has the NRL. Daley rejected that narrative. “I don’t see it like Nath has to ‘own’ Origin,” Daley said. “He’s won man of the matches, he’s been a part of winning Origin series before. It’s a big game for everyone.”
