Johns’ NSW spine change, ‘big dog’ call for Origin III

George Clarke | June 18, 2026

Laurie Daley is facing fresh calls to overhaul his NSW side as the battered Blues look to drag themselves off the canvas following a State of Origin game two hammering at the hands of Queensland. 

But Daley is reluctant to rush into any decisions about the make-up of his team in the wake of the demoralising 44-24 defeat at the MCG that sent the series to a decider.

For a second-straight year, Daley’s men blew a 1-0 series lead as they threw away a 12-8 halftime lead in Melbourne on Wednesday.

His Blues outfit will be forced to defy history to become just the second NSW team in the last 20 years to clinch a series at Suncorp Stadium in Origin III on July 8.

“I think you’ve just got to analyse the game first and foremost, and then see how the players play over the next couple of weeks and see who’s playing,” Daley said.

“It is what it is. We’ll assess and look at the game and see where we can go and do better.”

Queensland great Cameron Smith claimed the Blues needed to make “four or five changes” in the post-game wash-up on the Nine Network, while NSW legend Andrew Johns accused Daley’s side of being too structured and predictable. 

Johns urged Daley to consider starting Cameron Murray and called for more creativity out of dummy-half after Api Koroisau was left as an unused interchange player while starting hooker Reece Robson toiled. 

Johns also said he would kick the tyres on Latrell Mitchell, who has been sidelined for the last month with a back injury, because of the fear the South Sydney centre would strike into the Maroons. 

“When he (Mitchell) walks into camp, they go ‘the big dog’s back’ but when he gets the ball all eyes are on him and the bigger the occasion the better he’d go,” Johns said. 

Daley’s decision to drop Haumole Olakau’atu for the ineffective Dylan Lucas is expected to form a key part of any revamped Blues side, while the NSW coach confirmed he only took five-eighth Mitch Moses off in the dying stages of Wednesday’s game as a precaution.

Moses missed game one with a hamstring issue but both he and Nathan Cleary struggled to make their mark in Melbourne.

Ethan Strange, who was the star in the Blues’ game one win, was only thrown on at the MCG when the result was decided.