Greg Inglis of the Maroons runs with the ball. (Scott Barbour/Getty Images)
Queensland will be hoping home advantage counts for a lot this Wednesday as they look to clinch the series against New South Wales in the decider at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
State of Origin Game III kicks off at 1100 BST on Wednesday, July 8.
The 2015 State of Origin series is level at 1-1 after the Maroons won Game I thanks to an 11-10 victory at ANZ Stadium, while the Blues took Game II when they got the better of Queensland 26-18 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
New South Wales have named their team to face Queensland on Wednesday but they are still unsure whether or not Robbie Farah will be fit to play.
The Wests Tigers hooker, who suffered a hand injury last weekend, has trained with the Blues this week but has also helped back-up hooker Michael Ennis which could mean Farah will not make it.
New South Wales will most certainly be led out by captain Paul Gallen who intends to play through the pain barrier once again after picking up a rib injury in Game II.
Queensland welcome back scrum-half Cooper Cronk after he missed the defeat in Melbourne and his return means Daly Cherry-Evans misses out.
Billy Slater misses out after being ruled out for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury meaning Greg Inglis starts at full-back and that is a dangerous combination.
The return of Cronk and Inglis to full-back has sent Queensland fans into raptures as they believe those two players hold the key for the Maroons to win back the title they believe is rightly theirs.
Cronk, on the other hand, has played down the role of saviour and he said: “I doubt that’s true…(but) I’d like to think the way I play the game helps others in the team play their best football.”
The Melbourne Storm play-maker may be quick to play down his role but New South Wales certainly know how good he is Blues five-eighth Mitchell Pearce insists they need to keep a close eye on him.
Pearce said: “It is a massive boost for them. I’m sure it is something they will get a lot of confidence out of it, it is something they to talk about a lot: Cooper Cronk playing or not playing.
“He is all class, he has been around a long time and he brings a lot to their side. It is no secret he will have a big game, so for us we have to play better.”
This game has got everyone talking with former players weighing in on the war of words that always happens between both camps.
The talk once again reverts to Queensland’s ageing side with eight of their playing squad over the age of 30 – but one ex-Maroon Petero Civoniceva has once again laughed off the talk.
He said: “There’s been a bit of talk, right from the start of this series, that Queensland’s time was up. Reflecting on 2006, we very much were the underdogs and all the talk was about how NSW was going to complete the series by beating us down at the MCG.
“There’s similarities in the amount of talk there is about NSW and what they’re aiming to do up in Queensland but, I can tell you, it’s tremendous motivation for the players.”
