Queensland will face a sold out crowd and an expected soggy track as they aim to secure their sixth consecutive Origin series tomorrow night.
The Maroons have had a trouble-free build up to Origin II and arrived in Sydney this afternoon.
As was the case for both games last year, Sydney is in the midst of heavy rain which will likely result in a wet and cold night.
Having won both those matches, the conditions will not faze the Maroons as they look to again re-write the record books.
Jacob Lillyman has finally arrived back from New Zealand after being caught up in the volcanic ash chaos on the weekend and will be Queensland’s 18th man.
The game will be Darren Lockyer’s final Origin in Sydney while maligned centre Greg Inglis will be out to prove his championship qualities.
Origin II kicks off at 8pm tomorrow and will be broadcast live into Queensland and New South Wales on Channel Nine.
Broncos name guns
Brisbane will field their strongest possible team for Friday night’s clash with the league-leading St George-Illawarra Dragons at Suncorp Stadium.
For the first time this year, coach Anthony Griffin named Darren Lockyer and Sam Thaiday alongside fellow stars Ben Hannant, Jharal Yow Yeh and Corey Parker to back up 48 hours after a representative match.
In another huge boost for the club, Justin Hodges is poised to return from a hamstring injury that has kept him sidelined for a month.
Leading Rookie of the Year candidate Jack Reed moves to the interchange bench after an impressive match in the forwards during last weeks’ 25-24 golden point win over Canberra.
Injuries largely forced Reed into the backline to start the year, where he excelled, but he is seen as a player who can also play in the back row.
In other changes Dale Copley returns to the wing with Dane Gagai moving back to the Under 20’s and Shea Moylan to the Queensland Cup.
Prop Nick Kenny has been named 18th man while utilities’ Corey Norman and Kurt Baptiste complete the extended bench.
Three players will drop out of the squad on Friday after the Origin players have been assessed.
The Dragons have also named a full strength side for what should be a marquee match with both sides firmly entrenched in the top half of the competition.
The match will be broadcast live on Channel Nine into Queensland and New South Wales with the telecast starting at 7:30pm Friday.
Prince records 250th
Gold Coast halfback Scott Prince will celebrate his 250th NRL match when his side plays South Sydney at ANZ Stadium on Friday night.
Captain Prince, in his 14th season, has spent time at North Queensland, Brisbane and Wests Tigers before linking with the Titans for their inaugural 2007 season.
The Titans scored a much needed 28-14 win over a depleted Dragons side last week and coach John Cartwright has stuck with the same side.
He has included representative duo Ashley Harrison and Greg Bird in the 19 man squad with both players to be evaluated following Origin II.
New recruit Beau Henry, signed for the rest of this season through to 2013 from Newcastle, began training with the Titans this week.
The five-eighth could prove to be an excellent purchase with the Titans struggling to find a regular halves partner for Prince following Mat Rogers’ retirement last season.
However the Titans have lost impact forward Sam Tagaetese who has joined Cronulla immediately for the rest of this year and beyond.
Gold Coast currently sits in 14th position and need to build on last week’s victory if they are to challenge for a top eight finish.
In a rare double, two Queensland sides will play separate Friday night matches this week with the Titans match against Souths replayed on Channel Nine following the Broncos game.
Hall suspended
Cowboys second-rower Glenn Hall has been suspended for one match following a high tackle in last week’s 4-24 loss to Manly.
His high tackle, plus another incident earlier in the year, was enough to rule him out following an early guilty plea.
Scott Bolton will take Hall’s back-row position for Saturday night’s match against the Warriors at Dairy Farmers Stadium.
New recruit Cory Paterson, signed mid-season from Newcastle, is in the final stages of recovery from a knee injury and was not considered for this week.
Centre Antonio Winterstein is awaiting scan results for a pectoral injury suffered against Manly with coach Neil Henry telling the club’s website the former Bronco could be out for as little as four weeks or the rest of the season.
As ended up being the case last week, Ben Jones will start in the centres while Gavin Cooper also finds himself in the backs with Brent Tate (knee) and Willie Tonga (shoulder) still at least a month away.
Will Tupou, a regular winger or centre, has been named 18th man while Michael Morgan and Joel Riethmuller have been retained.
Morgan played halfback last week and will fill the utility role on the bench while Riethmuller, a back-rower, played 18 minutes in his NRL debut last week.
The Cowboys and Warriors have a history of entertaining and sometimes heated affairs but this will be their first match at Dairy Farmers Stadium since Round 6, 2008.
It will be live on Fox Sports with kick-off at 7:30pm Saturday.
Queensland vs. NSW, Origin II, Wednesday 8pm, (Channel Nine, live).
Billy Slater, Darius Boyd, Dane Nielsen, Greg Inglis, Jharal Yow Yeh, Darren Lockyer (c), Johnathan Thurston, Matt Scott, Cameron Smith, Petero Civoniceva, Nate Myles, Sam Thaiday, Ashley Harrison Interchange: Cooper Cronk, Corey Parker, Dave Taylor, Ben Hannant. 18th Man – Jacob Lillyman, Coach – Mal Meninga.
Brisbane Broncos vs. Dragons, Friday 7:45pm, (Channel Nine, live)
Josh Hoffman, Dale Copley, Gerard Beale, Justin Hodges, Jharal Yow Yeh, Darren Lockyer (c), Peter Wallace, Ben Hannant, Andrew McCullough, Scott Anderson, Alex Glenn, Sam Thaiday, Corey Parker. Interchange: Jack Reed, Dunamis Lui, Mitchell Dodds, Dave Hala, Nick Kenny, Corey Norman, Kurt Baptiste (three to be omitted).
Gold Coast Titans vs. Rabbitohs, Friday 7:45pm, (Channel Nine, delayed 9:30pm)
William Zillman, Steve Michaels, Clinton Toopi, Joseph Tomane, David Mead, Preston Campbell, Scott Prince (c), Luke Bailey, Matt Srama, Michael Henderson, Anthony Laffranchi, Mark Minichiello, Ashley Harrison. Interchange: Matthew White, Ryan James, Bodene Thompson Ben Ridge, Luke O’Dwyer, Greg Bird (two to be omitted).
North Queensland Cowboys vs. Warriors, Saturday 7:30pm, (Fox Sports, live)
Matthew Bowen, Ashley Graham, Ben Jones, Gavin Cooper, Kalifa Faifai Loa, Ray Thompson, Johnathan Thurston (c), Matt Scott (c), Aaron Payne, James Tamou, Tariq Sims, Scott Bolton, Dallas Johnson. Interchange: Michael Morgan, Joel Riethmuller, Aston Sims, Leeson Ah Mau, Will Tupou (one to be omitted).
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