State of Origin Game II is on tonight, with the Blues and Maroons facing off on neutral ground in Perth.
Kick-off is at 8:05pm (AEST).
The Blues will be hoping to seal a series victory, while the Maroons are playing to keep the series alive.
Context
The Blues won the series opener 18-6 in Brisbane last month to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
The match is being played at Optus Stadium in Perth. The venue has hosted State of Origin matches twice before, with the Blues winning both in dominant fashion (38-6 in 2019 and 44-12 in 2022).
A victory for the Blues tonight would also extend their Origin winning streak to four matches for the first time since 1997.
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Teams
Maroons coach Billy Slater made the bold decision to drop State of Origin veteran Daly Cherry-Evans after a below-average attacking performance from the side in the opening match.
Tom Dearden of the North Queensland Cowboys will step up to replace Cherry-Evans at halfback.
In the absence of Cherry-Evans, the Storm’s Cameron Munster will captain the team.
The Maroons starting lineup will also see two changes in the forwards, with the Warriors’ Kurt Capewell returning to the team, and the Storm’s Trent Loeiro making his starting debut.
Blues coach Laurie Daley has been forced to make two changes to his side because of injury.
Bulldogs prop Max King has been promoted to the starting lineup in place of Mitch Barnett. Wests Tigers captain Jarome Luai will join his former teammate Nathan Cleary in the halves after Mitch Moses was forced to withdraw from the team with a calf injury.
