Tickets to Origin 1 have sold out, the stadium says. File photo: ANDREW KACIMAIWAI
A couple of training knocks to players is nothing to worry about, both NSW and Queensland officials insist.
The first game of 2025 State of Origin will kick off at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, tomorrow night.
And the NSW Blues camp say centre Stephen Crichton is expected to be fit to play.
Crichton had to receive treatment after he left the team’s first training session in Brisbane, at Ballymore, with an icepack on a leg on Monday.
NSW officials say the measure was merely a precaution after he suffered a cork and Crichton does not require scans to clear him.
NRL.com.au reports that Bulldogs team-mate Matt Burton is on standby if Crichton is ruled out.
Bulldogs head of football Phil Gould is hopeful that the Blues centre will play at Suncorp.
“Hopefully he’ll play,” Gould said on TV on Monday night.
“It’s a little worse than first expected. I mean he’s now in the hands of the NSW medical staff and I trust them.
“I said to them that he’s a very resilient chap. He plays with injuries all the time. He’ll know whether or not he can play. There’s no way he’s going to risk it and jeopardise a team performance.
“He knows it’s important and he knows he’s got a great replacement there in Campbell Graham, who has trained with the team all week.
“They’ll make the right decision. I trust them to do that. Other than that, I just hope he’s okay and he gets to play.”
Meanwhile, Blues prop Payne Haas is on track to play for NSW despite a quad injury.
Queensland centre Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow sent a scare through the Maroons camp after he sustained a knock at training on Sunday.
Queensland medical staff are confident he is not in doubt.
Meanwhile, New Zealand-born and Maori rep Jesse Arthars says he is keeping his head down as he readies to wear the Maroons jersey at Suncorp.
The Bronco, who grew up on the Gold Coast, told NRL.com.au that he has been buoyed by the support he is receiving from his family back across the Tasman.
- The third and final women’s Origin game will be played in Newcastle, NSW, on Thursday. The Blues are gunning for a 3-0 whitewash of the Maroons after convincing wins in the first two games.
