New South Wales Blues vs Queensland Maroons – Wednesday night – ANZ Stadium

Blues

1. Josh Dugan (St George Illawarra Dragons)
2. Will Hopoate (Parramatta Eels)
3. Michael Jennings (Sydney Roosters)
4. Josh Morris (Canterbury Bulldogs)
5. Daniel Tupou (Sydney Roosters)
6. Mitchell Pearce (Sydney Roosters)
7. Trent Hodkinson (Canterbury Bulldogs)
8. Aaron Woods (Wests Tigers)
9. Robbie Farah (c) (Wests Tigers)
10. James Tamou (North Queensland Cowboys)
11. Beau Scott (Newcastle Knights)
12. Ryan Hoffman (New Zealand Warriors)
13. Josh Jackson (Canterbury Bulldogs)
14. Trent Merrin (St George Illawarra Dragons)
15. Boyd Cordner (Sydney Roosters)
16. David Klemmer (Canterbury Bulldogs)
17. Andrew Fifita (Cronulla Sharks)

Maroons

1. Billy Slater (Melbourne Storm)
2. Darius Boyd (Brisbane Broncos)
3. Greg Inglis (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
4. Justin Hodges (Brisbane Broncos)
5. Will Chambers (Melbourne Storm)
6. Jonathan Thurston (North Queensland Cowboys)
7. Cooper Cronk (Melbourne Storm)
8. Matt Scott (North Queensland Cowboys)
9. Cameron Smith (c) (Melbourne Storm)
10. Nate Myles (Gold Coast Titans)
11. Aidan Guerra (Sydney Roosters)
12. Sam Thaiday (Brisbane Broncos)
13. Corey Parker (Brisbane Broncos)
14. Michael Morgan (North Queensland Cowboys)
15. Josh McGuire (Brisbane Broncos)
16. Matt Gillett (Brisbane Broncos)
17. Jacob Lillyman (New Zealand Warriors)

Note: team line-ups are subject to change. Rosters will be updated as amendments filter through.

History is a handy guide to everything, so I thought I'd go back and take a look at what I was thinkering in 2014. Back then, I posed the following question:

Which players in the NSW squad are good enough to be in the QLD squad?

I found Maroon jerseys for three of them - Jarryd Hayne, Paul Gallen and Brett Morris. Not one of them is lining up here. Much has been said of the age in the Queensland side, and with good reason, but providing they are all fit and in form I see this as a strength rather than a weakness. I have to assume the Queenslanders are fit, but when it comes to form I'll say this. Only one player in the QLD seventeen is with a club side outside the top eight. Thirteen of the seventeen are with clubs in the top four. More than half the NSW seventeen are in sides outside the top eight - more than half. Only three of them are with top four sides. Some might ask if these Queenslanders still have the hunger, and if they didn't lose the 2014 series I would ask the same question. They want this...and they're a better side than their opponent. In 2014 the Blues scored four tries in the entire series - that is one try for every hour of football played. Two of their more dynamic attacking weapons from last year (Hayne and Morris) are unavailable to them. Where will they score their points? Who do they turn to? I know that the first game of the series is usually a low-scoring affair but you still have to score something. I can't see enough points in them. I simply can't. It's highly likely this will be a dog fight. The officials are reluctant to blow their whistles and that will slow the game down considerably. That keeps this close, but I'll bank on the talent in that QLD backline. They've been doing this for a while, and they are successful more often than not. That so many of them work together at club level is another enormous bonus. Morgan comes in for Cherry-Evans, and his combination with Thurston is first-class. Will Chambers replaces Tate, and he knows the games of Smith, Cronk and Slater like the back of his hand. McGuire gets a well-earned debut off the bench, and three of his mates from the Broncos engine room are there alongside him. I'm happy to take $1.75 or thereabouts about a QLD victory, and I'm keen on Thaiday as first try-scorer at nice odds too. Gamble responsibly.

Verdict : QLD 18 - NSW 10 (Result: QLD 11 def NSW 10)

First try scorer: Sam Thaiday (Result: Cooper Cronk)

Man of the Match: Matt Scott (Result: Cameron Smith)