Origin 2
Preview ( With Stats )

Game 2 at ANZ stadium is played tonight, and it?s do or die for the mighty Maroons. After getting a footballing lesson in game 1, the QLD side have made several changes. Coming into the side are Bulldogs Steve Price and Travis Norton, Warrior Peter John Marsh, Roosters Justin Hodges and Chris Flannery, and Shark Chris Beattie. Gone from the QLD side are Doyle, Buttigieg, Schifcofske, Webb, Civinoceva, and Campion.

QLD?s hand was forced with injuries to Webb and Civinoceva, and the need to field a team with more attacking firepower and aggression. Beattie brings enough aggression for a whole forward pack, and he should spark a fired up QLD pack in the first 20 minutes. Northon, Price, Marsh, Hodges and Flannery bring plenty of attacking flair to the side.

Late changes to the QLD starting line may be on the cards as well. Smith may find himself starting at hooker moving Marsh to the bench, this may be a wise option as it would save Marsh from having to do a lot of defensive work in the first 20. If Marsh starts or not will show QLD?s hand, if he goes to the bench, the QLD?ers will be looking for an aggressive start, dominating up the middle, pounding the Blues. If Marsh starts they will be looking to attack from the out set, they?ll spread the ball, give it some air early and test out the Blues backs. The latter option would be a welcome surprise for QLD fans who are sick of seeing their side on the defensive.

NSW have had a shaky build up, losing Kennedy before the team was selected, forcing the Blues to call on tested backrower Steve Menzies. Barrett has been ruled out, and Anasta comes into the starting line up, with Storm?s Scott Hill coming onto the bench. Both coach Gould and lock Ricketson have had a virus to top it all off. How they handle these interruptions will effect the out come of the match. Ricketson could find himself being targeted in the same way a sick Langer was targeted in game 1.

Even the crowd size of game 3 is riding on this match, a close game either way will bring a big crowd to game 3, any thing else will keep the fans away, and 50,000 will be the best that can be hoped for.

T = Tackles, MT = Missed Tackles, HT = Hit Ups, MG = Metres Gained, LB = Line Breaks, HE = Handling Errors, OF = Off Loads, T = Tries, G + Goals

Season Stats for NSW ......................T MT HT MG LB HE OF T G 1 Brett Hodgson 46 20 100 890 6 14 8 7 26 2 Timana Tahu 31 10 97 831 13 6 16 9 0 3 Jamie Lyon 123 5 86 837 7 9 11 4 0 4 Shaun Timmins 156 17 112 836 5 4 11 3 0 5 Jason Moodie 31 3 65 584 5 6 1 5 0 6 Braith Anasta 108 10 64 364 2 11 9 4 0 7 Andrew Johns 142 28 73 536 9 14 15 4 52 8 Mark O'Meley 192 20 165 1269 1 12 22 2 0 9 Danny Buderus 214 18 59 551 10 4 4 4 0 10 Luke Bailey 198 15 129 968 1 6 7 0 0 11 Steve Simpson 199 9 130 1090 4 6 13 5 0 12 Nathan Hindmarsh 236 15 139 1083 7 11 12 6 0 13 Luke Ricketson 251 17 114 714 2 7 12 2 0 14 Bryan Fletcher 164 9 131 882 3 8 24 2 0 15 Michael Vella 80 3 62 482 0 3 0 0 0 16 Steve Menzies 181 23 108 687 3 8 16 3 0 17 Scott Hill 220 34 109 661 7 16 29 2 0

Season Stats for QLD

......................T MT HT MG LB HE OF T G 1 Darren Lockyer 35 8 107 807 9 17 15 8 0 2 Lote Tuqiri 50 8 142 1198 4 10 12 6 9 3 Chris Walker 49 5 71 657 9 10 2 5 0 4 Chris McKenna 185 13 109 716 0 6 15 0 0 5 Justin Hodges 153 12 123 1035 10 12 8 4 0 6 Shaun Berrigan 177 17 101 797 8 21 14 4 0 7 Allan Langer 125 19 44 273 5 12 8 1 0 8 Shane Webcke 254 18 163 1342 2 3 11 1 0 9 PJ Marsh 209 35 70 545 7 8 6 0 0 10 Chris Beattie 195 12 159 1150 1 9 6 0 0 11 Gorden Tallis 169 21 137 1054 5 8 27 6 0 12 Dane Carlaw 132 7 58 431 0 1 3 0 0 13 Travis Norton 219 26 89 692 5 4 17 1 0 14 Darren Smith 150 12 47 284 2 3 8 2 0 15 Steve Price 228 19 150 1044 0 3 9 0 0 16 Chris Flannery 61 11 36 248 3 3 1 0 0 17 Andrew Gee 154 9 77 513 2 4 3 2 0