State of Origin returns to Perth tonight as the NSW Blues look to wrap up the interstate series for the second consecutive year.
Soundly beaten in both previous trips to the west, the heat is on Billy Slater’s Maroons to find answers following a lack-lustre home performance at Suncorp Stadium in Game I.
According to Sportsbet, Queensland will enter Optus Stadium as clear outsiders to force a Game III decider in Sydney on July 9.
But as always, there will be plots and sub-plots that run far deeper than the scoreboard.
MORE: State of Origin confirmed team lists NSW and QLD
Below are the five burning State of Origin questions we’re looking to see answered tonight:
1. Will Tom Dearden prove Billy Slater a genius?
Billy Slater has stuck his neck on the line with this one. Following the Game I defeat at Suncorp, 36-year-old Daly Cherry-Evans became the first incumbent Queensland captain to be dropped mid-series in Origin history, replaced by energetic Cowboys half Tom Dearden.
80 minutes will determine if it was folly, or a masterstroke.
2. Will it be just like old times for Luai and Cleary?
Last week’s injury withdrawal of Mitchell Moses saw Wests Tigers five-eighth, Jerome Luai, controversially leapfrog 18th man, Matt Burton, into the starting side for Game II.
Alongside Nathan Cleary, Luai formed one of the most potent halves pairings in NRL premiership history.
Now competing as rivals, can they rekindle the old magic at Origin level?
3. Will Munster seize the moment?
Perhaps the most obvious by-product of DCE’s axing was the need to find a new Queensland skipper—just the 16th since the late Arthur Beetson led the inaugural Maroons on to Lang Park in 1980.
Overlooking forwards Pat Carrigan and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, Billy Slater swung a minor surprise in choosing five-eighth, Cameron Munster.
If Queensland is to have any hope of keeping the series alive, they need their new captain to have a blinder.
MORE: Origin legends praise Munster captaincy call
4. Will the Maroons hide from ‘Back Fence Spence’?
One of the most talked about moments of Origin I was Queensland choosing to send kick offs away from Spencer Leniu.
You can be sure the firebrand Blues reserve will be itching to get his chance in Game II—but will he get it?
If the Maroons oblige, expect fireworks.
5. Will the Optus Stadium crowd record be broken?
State of Origin already holds the third-largest sporting crowd attendance at Optus Stadium, with 59,721 fans cramming in for the 2019 clash won 38-6 by NSW.
Given the afterglow of the recent Perth Bears NRL announcement, the venue’s all-time record of 61,241 (Bledisloe Cup, 2019) could be in real jeopardy tonight.
If that happens, watch for the reaction of NRL boss Peter V’Landys—especially should any reporters from The West Australian newspaper be nearby.
MORE: Scared reaction of Perth media vindicates NRL expansion call
---
State of Origin II kicks off at 8:05pm (EST) tonight from Optus Stadium in Perth.