The teams have been picked for the deciding match of the 2026 State of Origin series in Brisbane, with the NSW Blues pulling a number of surprises, and Queensland also shaking things up.
With coaches Laurie Daley and Billy Slater now taking their squads into a ten-day camp ahead of the decider, we look at all the big selection talking points ahead of Game 3.
» State of Origin Game 3 team lists
Why Brian To'o had to be dropped
The biggest shock from either state was undoubtedly the axing of Brian To'o, with the Penrith Panthers and NSW Blues mainstay relegated from Laurie Daley's side.
But here is the thing.
As much as the move caught plenty by surprise and raised plenty of questions, it's the decision Laurie Daley had to make.
He has certainly made some other head-scratchers, but To'o, in the modern game where height and leaping ability on the back of a good kicking game is everything, has become a liability at the highest level.
That's not to say To'o isn't an excellent winger, and normally, the good bits of his game he brings - that is, a good read in defence on the ground and the being the competition's strongest ball-runner out of his own half - has outweighed any negatives in his game.
But with his future under the spotlight as revealed by Zero Tackle earlier this year, his form on the wane, and his first two Origin games being uncharacteristically bad, Daley had to pull the trigger.
In his place is Jack Bostock. If your argument is losing To'o and his metres with the ball in hand, Bostock averages 160 per game, brings a different challenge to tackle given his height, and will out-perform To'o in the air. With strong defensive capabilities and a good vision for the game at both ends of the park, he is absolutely the right call to come into the side.
Experience in big games might let him down, but the old saying "if you're good enough you're old enough" has never been more true in this instance.
Finefeuiaki dropped, but why?
Queensland are, at the time of writing, yet to name their actual run-on side for Game 3, but the axing of Kulikefu Finefeuiaki is a bit of a surprise.
He did make it onto the field, albeit barely, in Game 2, but the decision to now run with an underdone Jeremiah Nanai on the bench is a bold one.
Finefeuiaki has arguably been the competition's form second-rower, whereas Nanai, who we know struggles at the defensive end of the park, hasn't had all that much first-grade time.
Admittedly, the plan probably is that Nanai won't need to play many minutes if at all, but changing a winning side for the sake of changing it doesn't make a lot of sense.
You can probably see what Slater is trying to do. NSW were exposed in the air during Game 2, and Nanai will add to that advantage for Queensland, but whether that outweighs the enormous risks associated with this change is a real question - and not one that seems like it has a favourable answer for Slater and his selectors.
Slater held a pretty diplomatic view when quizzed, saying it was a tough call, but that Finefeuiaki still had growth needed in his game.
“They're tough calls, they're tough conversations,” the Maroons coach said.
“I think Kuli has developed so much over the last 18 months and that earned him an Origin jersey ... but I still think there's some growth in his game.
“We have those conversations and I look forward to seeing the growth in certain parts of his game. I've got no doubt he'll be in this footy team as a future.”
Stephen Crichton's recall makes no sense
The Blues, outside of the change to Brian To'o on the wing, have an almost entirely new-look back five, with both Kotoni Staggs (dropped) and Tolutau Koula (bench) out of the run-on side.
Roosters duo James Tedesco, who has had a mixed series at the back, and Mark Nawaqanitawase, who scored a double but struggled defensively in Game 2, have survived.
Staggs being dropped is potentially understandable given his poor performance in Game 2, while Koula being axed to the bench makes absolutely no sense given his strong start to the series.
Bradman Best, who has been in good form over the last fortnight but will be underdone due to injury coming in, is a risk but understandable.
Picking Crichton on the other hand, is a head-scratcher.
He has spent much of the year struggling through a shoulder problem that cost him Game 2, and was awful in Game 1.
Without the form to justify it, it's difficult to understand exactly why he has been recalled.
Carrigan's shock return a major Queensland risk
Patrick Carrigan's series was supposed to be over after he injured himself in the lead-up to Game 2 against the St George Illawarra Dragons.
The forward is one of Queensland's most important, but returning early for a deciding match in the Origin series is as big a risk as Billy Slater could have taken.
Lindsay Collins, who is out with a concussion, had to be replaced, and there is still a chance Carrigan doesn't play, but the last thing Queensland will want is disruption to the squad because of a late withdrawal.
The risk is that he does the role he did in Game 1 - obviously the A strategy for Queensland - and isn't quite up to it.
Blues make same mistake with Liam Martin selection
In Game 2, the Blues camp was a mess. Stephen Crichton was ruled out with a shoulder injury an hour after the squad was named, and Casey McLean on Saturday before the game.
Mitchell Moses was barely able to train until the weekend, and then once they got on the park, it's clear Payne Haas wasn't quite ready for that level, turning in one of the worst performances of his career at any level of the game.
Now, Daley has done it again.
With absolutely no need to do so, he has called Liam Martin into the side, and not just that, but to start.
Somehow, Haumole Olakau'atu, who was dropped for Game 2, only returns to the interchange bench, while Dylan Lucas, a victim of the Blues' awful attacking tactics in Game 2, is dropped.
The Martin selection brings experience and aggression, but in a game where every substitution and bench spot needs to be used wisely, the chance of him seeing out 80 minutes at high production seems slim.
Dearden out again, and Sam Walker has a chance to win Queensland's seven jersey for good
The future of Queensland's halves have understandably been a major talking point throughout the course of this year's Origin series.
If he were fit ahead of the series getting underway, there is little doubt he would have worn the number seven jumper in both Games 1 and 2 as he did in Games 2 and 3 last year.
The performance in Game 3 in particular, as the Maroons took out the series, was one of the better performances you'll see.
Sam Walker has been excellent across the first two games though, and is now staking a claim to become the long-term number seven.
Man of the match in Game 2, and might have been in Game 1 as well if Queensland won, a strong performance in Game 3 could well set him up for the player of the series medal.
Long-term, Dearden and Walker look to be Queensland's halves, but while Cameron Munster is playing, there will only be room for one.
Walker can go a way towards making sure it's him by playing the house down in Game 3.
Blayke Brailey returns - Laurie Daley must use him
Blayke Brailey without a doubt would have played Game 2 in Melbourne if he hadn't gone and broken his arm, and could well have made a difference early in the second half for the Blues.
How Apisai Koroisau didn't make it onto the field in his place is a mystery.
Brailey's return to the team should fill Daley with some confidence that he has a dummy half on the bench who can do the job.
While some would argue maybe Reece Robson shouldn't be in the side based on his performances, the secret will actually be limiting his minutes after he takes the sting out of the game and letting Brailey's heavy running game go to work.
