State of Origin Game 1 lands at Accor Stadium on Wednesday 27 May with the kind of build-up that turns Sydney into a single-fixture city for the week. The NSW Blues team will be named Monday 18 May at 8am AEST. The Queensland Maroons will follow at 9am the same morning. The predicted teams published across the Sydney and Brisbane media this week have the most significant shift in the new eligibility rules: Penrith and Tonga international Addin Fonua-Blake will wear the blue jersey alongside Payne Haas in the Blues front row, the new dual-eligibility rules giving Laurie Daley a 110kg prop weapon he has never had to deploy before.
The Blues Forward Pack Has a New Look
Fonua-Blake's eligibility comes via NSW's residential and rules-based pathways and confirms what NSW Coach Laurie Daley has signalled since February: the Blues' Origin pack will be reshaped around an Origin debutant who was previously locked into the Tonga jersey. Beside him, Payne Haas remains the first picked if his MCL holds up after Round 11. The locks question is more open. Isaah Yeo is the captain on the predicted teams, but Pat Carrigan's form for the Lions makes Yeo's job harder than in 2025. Cameron Murray returns to the squad after missing 2025 through injury, with Hudson Young and Haumole Olakau'atu the predicted edge back-rowers.
In the halves, Mitchell Moses and Nathan Cleary are the no-doubt selections. Moses was named captain of NSW in February but the captaincy now sits with Yeo on the predicted teams. Latrell Mitchell, the predicted centre alongside Stephen Crichton, has been carrying a bulging disc and missed Round 10. His Round 11 outing against the Dolphins on Friday is the form line for Origin selection. Latrell's club form, when fit, is the best in the NRL but the Monday team-naming hangs on whether the back-rower turned centre can play through pain or needs the week to ease back.
Queensland's Side, Cobbo and the Cherry-Evans Call
Queensland's predicted team has Daly Cherry-Evans at halfback in his Game 1 farewell, partnered by Cameron Munster at five-eighth and Munster again as captain. Reece Walsh returns to the No. 1 jersey. Selwyn Cobbo, Robert Toia, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Dane Gagai are the predicted three-quarter line. The forward pack is conventionally Maroons: Tino Fa'asuamaleaui and Lindsay Collins as starting props, Harry Grant at hooker, Briton Nikora and Pat Carrigan in the second row, Reuben Cotter at lock.
The match schedule for the series confirms three Wednesdays. Game 1 at Accor Stadium 27 May 8:05pm AEST. Game 2 at the MCG Melbourne 17 June 8:10pm AEST. Game 3 at Suncorp Brisbane 8 July 8:10pm AEST. Tickets remain available for all three games via the NRL ticketing portal at the standard Origin pricing.
Where the Markets Land
NSW are $1.62 favourites for Game 1 at dabble, with Queensland $2.32 the underdog. The line opens at -3.5 the Blues' way at Picklebet. The series odds favour NSW at $1.50 ahead of Queensland $2.50 for series winner, with the 3-0 result at $5.50 for NSW and $9 for Queensland. The Wally Lewis Medal market opens with Cameron Munster $7 favourite ahead of Reece Walsh $9, Cleary $10 and Latrell Mitchell $11 at Ladbrokes.
Predicted team analysis and the Daley press conference last week are available via ABC Sport. NSW and Queensland team announcements are scheduled for Monday 18 May.