Blues coach Laurie Daly has swung the ax as he makes significant changes to his team as he looks to turn around his sideโs fortunes and win the decider at Suncorp Stadium.
Daley made the cruel decision to drop five players: Brian Toโo, Victor Radley, Kotoni Staggs, Api Koroisau and Dylan Lucas, who were not named after they featured in NSWโs second game at the MCG.
Among the 19 players, Daly made a total of six changes in one of the biggest shake-ups to the Origin squad in recent memory.
Jack Bostock has been named on the wing in place of Toโo, while Stephen Crichton and Bradman Best will make up the centres.
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Bostock was named to the bench for the second game following injuries to Crichton and then Casey McLean after the Panthers youngster was called up to replace center Daly.
The Dolphinsโ young gun beat out the likes of Tom Trbojevic, Josh Addo-Carr and Tom Jenkins.
Liam Martin returns to the starting line-up in place of Lucas, while Haumole Olakauatu finds himself on the bench after scoring a brace for the Sea Eagles on Saturday in a monumental audition after being dropped in the second game.
โFor Haumole, it was just a matter of how he wanted to play in Game 2 and then the balance of our team in Game 3,โ Daly said.
โJust to keep him on the bench, we believe he can make an impact in that position and thatโs why we went that route this time.
โThere are always difficult decisions to be made about who will play and who will miss, and the boys have to make the most of their opportunities.โ
Martin, meanwhile, was unavailable for the first two games of the 2026 series and Daly drew on his Origin experience, with 14 matches under his belt for New South Wales.
โHeโs played four games since injury and heโs never let NSW down,โ Daly said.
โHe really brings that aggression. He gives us that guy whoโs been around for a long time. He understands Origin.
โHe understands what we have to face at Suncorp Stadium, so Iโm sure Liam will be very excited about this opportunity.โ
Mitchell Moses and Nathan Cleary remain in the halves, with Ethan Strange and Tolu Cole named at fullback.
Koroisau was also replaced by Blake Braley, who starred in the first match of the series but was ruled out of the second game with a broken hand.
Speaking at a press conference to announce the team, Daley made it clear that giving up a player of Toโoโs caliber would not be an easy task.
โ(It was) a tough decision. Bizza was one of my personal favorites and the Brad Fittler Medal winner, and he was last year,โ Daly said.
โHeโs done a huge service to New South Wales and will be back, but in this game we just feel like we need to make those changes.
โJack is a young man. Heโs getting his opportunity and we expect him to play well.โ
โHeโs a big player. Heโs an aerial threat and we think heโll do well in Game Three.โ
As for other changes to his back line, Daly was confident his new center pairing of Crichton and Best would be up to the task.
โWith Bradman, we felt we probably needed someone who had faced Lang Park before,โ Daly said.
โSomeone who has a big body, who defends very well and is confident with the football.
โTolu was excellent for us in games one and two, but we felt this combination of Bradman and Jack could give us something a little different to what we had.
โBradman is a big player and has never let NSW down in the past.โ
BLUES TEAM FOR GAME III
1. James Tedesco
2. Jack Bostock
3. Bradman Best
4. Stephen Crichton
5. Mark Navaganitawase
6. Mitchell Moses
7. Nathan Cleary
8. Payne Haas
9. Rhys Robson
10. Mitchell Barnett
11. Hudson Young
12. Liam Martin
13. Isaiah Yeo
14. Cameron Murray
15. Addin Fonua-Blake
16. Haumole Olacauatu
17. Blake Braley
18. Ethan Strange
19. Tolutau Cole
20. Victor Radley
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Moses slams Daleyโs โunfairโ criticism | 03:50