The Maroons will be looking to win and equalise the series against the Blues when they meet at the Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday 11 June KO 7:00. NSW won last month’s opener in Sydney 18-10.

Queensland have been forced into a revamped halves combination of Johnathan Thurston and Scott Prince in Wednesday’s State of Origin Series second game in Brisbane, thanks to Darren Lockyer’s absence following knee surgery. Thurston has been moved to stand-off to accommodate Prince, who was initially overlooked by the Maroons’ selectors.

The Maroons will look to target the Blues Scrum-half Peter Wallace and negate his kicking game which was a potent weapon in the first game. We think that even with this the NSW Blues will be to strong and take a winning lead in the best of three series.

Teams

New South Wales: Brett Stewart, Steve Turner, Mark Gasnier, Matt Cooper, Anthony Quinn, Greg Bird, Peter Wallace, Brett White, Danny Buderus (capt), Craig Fitzgibbon, Ryan Hoffman, Willie Mason, Paul Gallen. Replacements: Anthony Laffranchi, Anthony Tupou, Steve Simpson, Kurt Gidley.

Queensland: Billy Slater, Darius Boyd, Greg Inglis, Brent Tate, Israel Folau, Johnathan Thurston, Scott Prince, Steven Price, Cameron Smith (capt), Petero Civoniceva, Michael Crocker, Sam Thaiday, Dallas Johnson. Replacements: Karmichael Hunt, Ben Hannant, Nate Myles, Ashley Harrison.

Referee: Tony Archer