Major clue in footage of Payne Haas and Brian To'o before State of Origin decider
While Cleary will play, but won't be goal-kicking, To'o and Haas hadn't trained with the main group ahead of the showdown with Queensland. Haas has been battling a back injury, which has been troubling him throughout the 2025 season.
While To'o injured his knee in the Panthers' 8-6 win over the Bulldogs in round 17. Jacob Kiraz was brought into the squad to cover for To'o if he didn't recover in time and has been running sessions in the Penrith winger's role.
But in good news for NSW, To'o took part in an training session 24 hours out from the captain's run and looked solid. Footage showed Haas warming-up on the sideline as he was put through some light stretches and grapple work.
Both Haas and To'o got right into the thick of the contest when they went up against the U-19s Canterbury side at Accor Stadium in a strong sign both stars will take to the field against Queensland for Game 3. The Brisbane Broncos front-rower is more of a concern heading into the clash with a call to be made on Tuesday.
Although NSW doctor Nathan Gibbs appeared confident both players would take to the field after a step-up in preparation. 'The luxury of having Jacob Kiraz, another winger, as 18th man, has given us the time to work with Brian up until game day. He was able to do everything against Canterbury's under-19s team. He's a very tough customer. Pending any catastrophes, he's looking really good," Gibbs told .
'As for Payne, he got through about 30 minutes of contact work, including hitting the ground, getting back up, acceleration, deceleration, grapple tackling, all that stuff. He looked very unencumbered. We wanted him to tick that box on Monday night, and he did.'
In good news for the team, Gibbs said no player should need painkillers before the decider on Wednesday. While doubts remain around Haas and To'o, team performance manager Frank Ponissi suggested the team will probably run out as named.
Reports now say Payne Haas got through about 30 minutes of contact in the Blues' final opposed session against the Bulldogs' Flegg side on Monday night.'Acceleration, deceleration, hitting the ground, getting back up, grapple tackling – he looked very unencumbered. We wanted… https://t.co/an75mJTDl8
— NRLCentral (@centralNRL) July 7, 2025
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Jacob Kiraz was a surprise 18th man selection for NSW and it meant he couldn't line-up for his side against the Broncos on Friday night. The Penrith Panthers winger was outstanding in Game 2 having scored two tries and ran for more than 200m in a standout display in a losing side. And while Kihraz has been training in the Penrith winger's place, Ponissi believes To'o should be good to go for the decider.
"It's going to be rare that a team in Origin, in the middle of the season, to have 20 fit players...Game 1 we handled it really well, and probably Game 2 we didn't. There were a few disruptions. And the way we selected our 20 was to make sure the injury concerns weren't going to disrupt the team," Ponissi said.
"That's why we selected a winger in 18th man. Jacob Kiraz. He has been basically training for Brian To'o all week. If Brian was not going to make it, it would be a smooth transition. We still expect Brian to play. We expect everyone to train this afternoon and the 17 selected to play on Wednesday night."
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