State of Origin: Injuries force Maroons squad changes for Game Two

Game Two of 2023’s State of Origin will take place at Brisbane’s Lang Park (Suncorp Stadium). Source: Sampajanna/Wikimedia

Maroons coach Billy Slater was forced to make changes to the Queensland team’s line-up after three of its players sustained injuries.

Injured players Jai Arrow (syndesmosis), Selwyn Cobbo (hip injury) and Tom Gilbert (shoulder surgery) are out, after helping the Maroons beat the Blues 26–18 during game one.

Replacing them will be Storm winger Xavier Coates, Titans prop Moeaki Fotuaika, and the Cowboys second-rower Jeremiah Nanai for game two on June 21 at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium.

Cobbo aggravated a hip injury on Saturday while playing in Adelaide while helping Brisbane to overcome Newcastle 24–20.

Coates has played six Origin games, last playing in 2022’s opening match in Sydney, during which he unfortunately injured his ankle, ruling him out of the rest of the series. He’s fresh of a Sunday win, where the Storm swept the Cronulla Sharks away 54–10.

The Maroons made two further changes to their extended squad.

Titans fullback AJ Brimson will replace the Cowboy’s Tom Dearden as the 18th, and Canberra forward Corey Horsburgh become the 19th as he replaces Storm’s Christian Welch, who is facing a one-game ban for dangerous contact on Sharks forward Royce Hunt during Sunday’s match.

Nanai, who played all three of last years’ State of Origin games, will be returning to replace Gilbert in the second row.

Fotuaika will replace Arrow on the bench — he last played for the Maroons in 2021.

However, the current season has been Fotuaika’s best, averaging a new career-high at 157 running metres across his last 13 games, and 32 tackles with an efficiency rate of 95 per cent in 2023.

Blues coach Brad Fittler has had to make a similar change for the NSW team, after halfback Nathan Cleary and hooker Apisai Koroisau were injured.

Damien Cook is expected to take Koroisau’s place, while Reece Robson is reported to be the team’s bench utility.

It is still unknown who will play the halves in the wake of Cleary’s injury, but Mitchell Moses is reportedly the front runner.
It remains to be seen if the changes to either team will safeguard the Maroons’ victory, and earn them their first consecutive win since 2017.

The complete Maroons squad for State of Origin Game Two (2023):