When is State of Origin Game I? Here's what you need to know ahead of kick-off between the Blues and Maroons
By
Elissa Steedman
, ABC
Xavier Coates of the Maroons runs with the ball during Game 1 of the State of Origin 2024 between the Queensland Maroons and the New South Wales Blues in Sydney.
Photo:
AAP / www.photosport.nz
Rugby league's fiercest rivalry will return to the field this week with the men's
State of Origin
series kicking off in Brisbane on Wednesday.
This year, the Blues are hoping the return of coach Laurie Daley will lead them to a second-straight win after their 2024 coach Michael Maguire was poached by the Brisbane Broncos.
In the Maroon corner, coach Billy Slater is hoping to add another win to his record.
Game I will be held on
Wednesday, May 28.
Here's the exact time the game will start in each time zone:
10.05pm NZT
8.05pm AEST
7.35pm ACST
6.05pm AWST
Maroons head coach Billy Slater is backing in a fresh group of Queenslanders following their strong form in the NRL.
Photo:
AAP / www.photosport.nz
Game I will be played at Lang Park in Brisbane.
The Maroons have won 39 of the 61 games played at the venue, while the Blues have won 21.
One game ended in a draw.
The official squads for Game I were announced early last week.
Queensland will be without several star players
, including Ben Hunt, Reece Walsh and Selwyn Cobbo, due to injury.
The growing injury list for the Maroons opened the door for to offer opportunities for debutants Robert Toia, Beau Fermor and Trent Loiero.
The Blues
weren't without their own injury troubles - Payne Haas was named in the starting side, but his position was tenuous due to a quad complaint.
Perhaps the headline story for New South Wales, however, is that coach Daley has opted to tackle a different kind of challenge this year, naming both Nathan Cleary and Mitchell Moses in the squad.
While both are proven lead Origin playmakers, pundits have questioned whether the two dominant halves will find a way to fit together.
Penrith Panthers' Liam Martin has been named in the NSW Game I squad.
Photo:
PHOTOSPORT
Game II: Wednesday, June 18 at Perth Stadium
Game III: Wednesday, July 9 at Stadium Australia in Sydney
While there's one game still to play, the New South Wales side has already claimed the series.
Here are the results from the first two games:
Game I: Qld 12, NSW 32
Game II: Qld 6, NSW 26
The third match will be played in Newcastle on Thursday, May 29 at 7:45pm AEST.
- ABC
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
Sonny Bill Williams set for grudge match against Aussie league player
A grudge match 10 years in the making will finally play out in the boxing ring in Sydney next month. Former All Black Sonny Bill Williams will face Australian rugby league player Paul Gallen. Williams, a one-time heavyweight national champion, was promoting the fight at an Auckland gym and said this bout is personal. Sports reporter Felicity Reid spoke to Lisa Owen. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
RNZ News
4 hours ago
- RNZ News
Boxing: Sonny Bill Williams, Paul Gallen eye fitting end to decade-long war of words
Sonny Bill Williams and Joseph Parker promote Williams' fight against Paul Gallen. Photo: RNZ/Marika Khabazi In a war of words that has lasted nearly a decade, former All Black Sonny Bill Williams wants to put a fullstop on exchanges with Australian rugby league legend Paul Gallen. Williams is clear about the finale he plans for the long-awaited boxing bout between the two that will take place on 16 July at Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena. "God willing, give him a good hiding and walk off into the sunset. "It's not a Rugby World Cup or NRL title or Super Rugby title, but I don't want to lose him. He can say this, I can say that, but it just comes down to who's worked hard, who's taking shortcuts and who lands the better punches on the night." Williams is not a fan of trash-talk, but he said keeping quiet had not always served him well. Both boxers have won world cups and premierships on the footy field, and they have knocked opponents out in the ring. They are two "proper household names" who do not have much left to prove, but this bout of eight two-minute rounds is personal for Williams. "I think, for myself to get back in the ring after three years to actually do something of this magnitude, there needed to be that animosity just to light that fire up. Otherwise, what's the point of doing it?" "The way that he conducts himself and he carries himself, and how he speaks about me, Williams said. "I look at it like, for me, I'm representing my Polynesian brothers. For example, calling me a dummy... I see it playing alongside these type of individuals and being in the sheds with these type of individuals, where they suck up all the oxygen. "As Polynesians, we're taught to be quiet and be respectful, and don't speak unless you're spoken to, and because we don't say anything, all of a sudden, it means that we're dumb. "Doesn't mean that we don't have opinions, it doesn't mean that we don't have brains, but we just let them speak. I think him looking at that, speaking like that, really observing the way that he's conducted himself, I really think that he thinks he's better than us." Williams has that motivation against a man four years his senior and someone he sees as a polar opposite, when it comes to the publicly promoting a fight. Sonny Bill Williams: "When it comes to trash-talking, that's not my go." Photo: RNZ/Marika Khabazi The former NZ heavyweight boxing champion, with a nine-win, one-loss career record, has been left to promote this bout by himself. Gallen has not fronted alongside Williams on either side of the Tasman. "When it comes to trash-talking, that's not my go. I don't get involved in that kind of game, I never have in any of my fights. "With Paul, it's second-hand nature - this flows off the tongue. "All I did was speak the truth, speak facts and, all of a sudden, I've hurt him," Williams said of the first time he spoke, when Gallen was a no show. "I've upset him with one low blow of attack on this and that, you know - it's just facts." Williams has been training on the Gold Coast with Australian professional boxer Jai Opetaia for four weeks, away from his wife and five children. "I'm a real visual learner," he said. "Although I've had 10 fights, it's been over the space of 15 years, so every time I get back in the ring, it's like doing it again, starting all over again. "This camp, I wanted to be around world class fighters, so I could learn the skillset needed, but also the mental side of things. "You don't have to be a rocket scientist to understand that he wants to fight in close and I want to fight at distance, but at the same time, we'll train accordingly. He won't have to go looking for me in the ring. "I'm prepping to stop him, but I'm prepping for eight rounds as well." Like Williams, Gallen retired from the ring in 2022, after a lucrative second sporting career for the man who played 348 NRL games and won the 2013 Rugby League World Cup with the Kangaroos . Gallen had 18 fights - most against former footy players - but he also stopped a former heavyweight champion and knocked out New Zealand's Junior Fa. Former world heavyweight champion Joseph Parker believed Williams was doing the right things to prepare for a fight billed as the biggest trans-Tasman grudge match of all time. "[Gallen's] a brawler," Parker said. "He throws big shots, but Sonny can learn from the best. "He's training with Jai and his team, learning from the best and picking up what he needs to pick up on, so he can come out there and dominate." Parker's advice for Williams: "Just stay calm. "Start calm and composed, because if you switch on the Samoan side, which we both have, then that's brawling back. "In moments like that, you just have to remain calm, remember what you've been learning, remember what you've been working on and and put it all on display, because this is his time to put it all on display." Williams and Gallen are big personalities that are still drawcards, despite their sporting peaks being in the rearview mirror. Their fight is a boxing promoter's dream and Duco Events' David Higgins said "there's a few magic ingredients at play" for this bout. Gallen v SBW - a boxing promoter's dream. Photo: PHOTOSPORT "First of all, you've got two proper household names, legends... people who've been at the very top of the highest level of sport, and incredibly competitive athletes that almost everyone in New Zealand and Australia knows who these guys are. "Second magic ingredient is you've got history. This fight has been brewing, probably for 10 years, with callouts and negotiations that fall apart, and on again, off again, on again... it just makes things bigger, when it brews so long. "Third, it's a proper 50/50 fight. Most pundits can't pick who they think will win. "There's a really good argument why Sonny Bill will win this fight - he's got height, his reach, he's a good boxer. In another life, he could have been a top boxer with that skillset. "Then you've got Paul Gallen, who never quits rough and tumble, so flip a coin and I think that gets people intrigued as well. "Then there's parochialism - you've got a New Zealand v Australia ingredient, you've got rugby union v rugby league. "There's quite a lot going on with this promotion and, as it reaches its crescendo, I think everyone's going to be talking about it and is going to tune in." For Williams, getting back in the ring has not been an easy road, but one he believes needed to happen. "The one thing I've missed since retiring is just that nervous energy, that nervous buzz, when you go out, and it's either sink or swim. It'll be a nice way to finish off, to close the chapter." Two other Kiwis will face off on the undercard, with David Nyika taking on Nik Charalampous . Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
12 hours ago
- RNZ News
Australia hold upper hand as bowlers dominate at WTC final
By Mark Gleeson , Reuters Australia's captain Pat Cummins celebrates taking the wicket of South Africa's David Bedingham on day two of the ICC World Test Championship cricket final match at Lord's in London, 12 June, 2025. Photo: AFP Australia have taken the upper hand in the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord's, ending day two on 144-8 in their second innings with a lead of 218 runs after wickets tumbled freely again. A gripping contest of fluctuating fortunes seemed to be heading for a decisive third day as defending champions Australia looked to set an imposing target for South Africa to chase. Australia had two second-innings wickets in hand at stumps, having survived a torrid spell of bowling with Alex Carey leading the charge with a late flurry of runs after South Africa had threatened to dismiss them cheaply in their second innings. Fourteen wickets fell on the second day, for a total of 28 over the two days as some brilliant bowling made for an absorbing contest. Australia captain Pat Cummins led the way with six wickets, speeding through the South African batting lineup as they were dismissed for 138, in reply to Australia's first innings 212. The day started with some resistance after South Africa were 43-4 overnight. They advanced to 121-5 at lunch with Temba Bavuma and David Bedingham putting on 64 runs for the fifth wicket. Bavuma was the only player to fall in the morning as he drove the Aussie skipper into the covers and was caught by a diving Marnus Labuschagne for 36. Cummins then took control after lunch to return the best bowling figures by a test captain at Lord's as his 6-28 gave Australia a 74-run first-innings lead. He induced a South African slump by taking two wickets in four balls to remove Kyle Verreynne leg before wicket for 13 and Marco Jansen without scoring. Cummins' fifth wicket was Bedingham, caught prodding at the ball to offer an edge that went through to wicketkeeper Carey, ending an innings of 45 off 111 balls. He was South Africa's top scorer in the innings. After Keshav Maharaj was run out for seven, Kagiso Rabada was the last South African wicket to fall, well caught in the deep by a forward-diving Beau Webster for Cummins' 300th test wicket. Australia's second innings started briskly with seven runs off the first over from Rabada, but he responded with two wickets in three balls shortly before the tea break. South Africa's Lungi Ngidi (L) celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Australia's Steven Smith on day two of the ICC World Test Championship cricket final match at Lord's. 12 June, 2025. Photo: AFP Usman Khawaja was dismissed for six before Cameron Green's comeback woes continued as he was out second ball after also going cheaply in the first innings. There was no respite from the bowlers after tea as Labuschagne nicked one and was caught behind for 22 and then Steve Smith became the first of three wickets for Lungi Ngidi. Smith (13) and Beau Webster (9) were both trapped leg before wicket. Wiaan Mulder then clean bowled Travis Head for nine and when Ngidi took out Cummins' stumps, Australia were teetering at 73-7. But Carey took advantage of a tiring attack, turning the pressure back onto the bowlers and scoring a brisk 43 before Rabada had him lbw minutes before stumps. Mitchell Starc (16) and Nathan Lyon (1) will resume on day three. Australia will look to add 20 to 30 more runs to their second innings total, Cummins said. "Initially, we felt anything over 200 was good but you just want to get as many runs as you can," Cummins told a press conference after the second day's play. "Hopefully we'll get another 20 or 30 in the morning. That'd be good. I think that would give us a few more options to bowl at, allow a few more aggressive fields and those kind of things." Of his 300th wicket, Cummins said: "That's something I always kind of thought about as a pretty good sign of durability, resilience and longevity. So, I feel pretty proud to join that group. "I've had a really good run the last half a dozen years or so of not missing too many games. You know, for the first few years I didn't know where my second test match was coming. "I feel like I've got lots of miles in the legs and don't feel like I'm going to end any anytime soon. "I really need to thank the medical staff, the way they looked after me in the early years to get through test matches,'' he added. For the South Africans, Bedingham said there was confidence in their camp that they could haul in whatever target Australia set. "I think it's just an amazing chance. And I think we're all very, very excited about the opportunity to win," he said. "Like I said, it could go either way, but I think us as a team are very, very excited and there's a lot of belief in the dressing room." - Reuters
