NSW coach Laurie Daley has defended Blues enforcer Spencer Leniu after he was the subject of a controversial headline.
Brisbane newspaper The Courier Mail had a picture of Leniu on its back page, accompanied by the headline: “Smash this Blues grub”.
It comes after Leniu’s verbal spat with Maroons legend Johnathan Thurston at Suncorp Stadium last month, the same venue that will host tonight’s series opener.
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Leniu’s hostility centred around Thurston’s comments on the Roosters hard man’s eight-game ban after calling Broncos five-eighth Ezra Mam a “monkey” in Las Vegas last year.
Thurston publicly stated he believed Leniu should have copped a longer suspension.
His comment towards Mam, combined with his confrontation with Thurston, may put Leniu in the firing line when it comes to the Suncorp Stadium crowd tonight.
But speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Daley backed his interchange hit man.
“Grub is a heavy word,” Daley said, when asked for his thoughts on the headline.
“He’s a good person, Spence. Everyone will look after him on Wednesday. He’ll be OK. He’s got a plan. Everyone has his back.
“I don’t think the crowd are going to jump in and do anything. He’s fine. He embraces those challenges pretty well. You want him to play with controlled aggression. That’s who he is. We’ve got his back.”
WILL ORIGIN HEAD OVERSEAS?
The NRL is floating the possibility of playing a State of Origin game across the Tasman.
If it were to happen, it’d be just the second time in Origin history that a game would be played outside Australia.
Back in 1987, NSW and Queensland played an exhibition game in Los Angeles, in front of 12,000 people, with the Blues winning 30-18.
The Daily Telegraph’s Phil Rothfield and The Australian’s Andrew Webster discussed the idea on their Off the Record podcast.
“I’m told there’s serious consideration from the ARL Commission and [NRL CEO] Andrew Abdo about taking State of Origin to New Zealand,” Rothfield said.
“Playing to a mass audience over there, in a rugby union country, is a smart move.
“We take a game every three years to Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide … why not go across the Tasman?”
Auckland’s Eden Park has played host to rugby league internationals in the past and shapes as the ideal venue.
However, the time difference could prove to be a stumbling block. New Zealand is two hours ahead of eastern Australia, and that may be a problem for broadcasters.
“The time difference is an issue,” Rothfield said.
“There’s talk about playing it at 8pm in New Zealand so it can be played at 6pm here, probably on a Sunday. That’s the only stopper on it: the time difference. You can’t have it at 10.30pm in New Zealand to have it in prime time here. It just wouldn’t work.
“But tickets would go in five minutes. Rugby league has taken off so much over there that it’s become a real concern to rugby union and the All Blacks. There’s an opportunity there for rugby league to become the No.1 sport in NZ.”
The Warriors are flying under coach Andrew Webster (not to be confused with the journalist), reaching a preliminary final in his first season in 2023, and are in third position on the table after 12 rounds in 2025.
Journalist Webster believed the NRL should consider taking an Origin game to Wembley Stadium in London, which seats 90,000 people.
Webster said Warrington owner and music promoter Simon Moran would be the ideal person to arrange the event.
“If he can get Oasis back together, he can organise an Origin at Wembley in his lunch break,” Webster said.
“I’ve spoken to English reporters over there, they reckon an Origin in Wembley would sell out for sure.
“With the NRL eyeing off a possible stake in the UK Super League, it would be a no-brainer. And it would help the game enormously over there.”
BENNY SLAMS BORING BUILD-UP
Blues legend Benny Elias says the build-up to game one of the State of Origin series has been boring and has called on both states to “hate each other”.
Pre-match barbs between the Maroons and Blues have been non-existent in 2025, compared with 2024 when then-Blues coach Michael Maguire’s “glass houses” taunts got under the skin of the Maroons.
With Maguire being replaced by the likeable Laurie Daley, there’s been next to no pre-game resentment between the two states.
Elias wants to see that change, and he’s called on the NRL to play a role in that.
“Absolutely, without a doubt there’s got to be something different other than the game itself,” Elias told 2GB’s Wide World of Sports Radio.
“The theatre should be to love to hate the opposition, Queensland and NSW for the next six weeks they’ve just got to hate each other
“(ARLC chairman Peter) V’landys is probably the greatest of all that knows how to create dramas on and off the football paddock, maybe create something because these two coaches are just two Mr. nice guys.”
The only drama in this year’s build-up has been Leniu’s ongoing feud with Thurston.
But that was sparked up by The Courier Mail’s controversial headline, rather than the teams themselves.
NSW MAKE FINAL CALL ON CRICHTON AS HAAS SET TO ‘DEFINITELY’ PLAY
NSW star centre Stephen Crichton will play in the series opener after overcoming a quad injury that Blues staff had admitted on Tuesday afternoon was a “concern”.
Two of Crichton’s teammates declared on Monday that he will be good to go on Wednesday night and now the Bulldogs star has been cleared by the team physio.
“He’ll be named in our 19 tonight when you have to name it 24 hours in advance,” NSW team performance Frank Ponissi said.
“We did an exemption to have Matt Burton potentially (play) had Stephen Crichton not been fit to play but we’re not going to be calling on that now. We expect Stephen to play tomorrow night.”
The 20-man squads were confirmed at 8pm on Tuesday but coaches can still make changes up until final teams are locked in an hour before kick-off.
Crichton’s confirmation came after Ponissi made a statement on Tuesday afternoon updating the status of Crichton while also confirming Payne Haas will “definitely” play.
“We just finished our captain’s run here at Suncorp Stadium, it’s been a terrific preparation (but) we’ve got a slight concern over Stephen Crichton for tomorrow night,” Ponissi said.
“He got a corked thigh yesterday in our training session at Ballymore. Medical staff are confident he’ll take his place tomorrow night. We’ll have another look at him later this afternoon but at this stage we expect him to play.
“Happy to say that Payne Haas trained yesterday and again trained today so he will be definitely taking his spot tomorrow night.”
Daley’s final words ahead of Game 1 | 05:37
On Monday, both Angus Crichton and Connor Watson told reporters it was “just a cork” and a “precautionary” measure when Crichton limped off the field with a thigh issue at training on Monday.
Former Blues advisor and Panthers legend Greg Alexander claimed on SEN Radio on Tuesday morning that Crichton was “gone”.
“Well he’s out. He’s gone. He’s done,” Alexander said.
“… Payne Haas is playing but Stephen Crichton isn’t. The cork he picked up in the training session was bad enough to rule him out.”
Bulldogs general manager of football Phil Gould tweeted on Tuesday that he has received word from Origin camp that while Crichton has “pulled up well” and the medical staff is “optimistic” about him playing there are “no guarantees”.
That was echoed by Blues coach Laurie Daley in his final press conference before Wednesday’s series opener, telling reporters they are “quietly confident” but will see how Crichton pulls up in the morning.
Gould added that versatile Bulldog Matt Burton remains on standby to be 18th man, with Campbell Graham to start in Crichton’s place should he be ruled out.
In a welcome boost, Daley said front rower Payne Haas will play on Wednesday night unless there are any unforeseen circumstances.
The Blues are expected to use drone footage to try find the culprit after vision surfaced of Crichton limping off the training pitch on Monday.
New South Wales trained at Brisbane’s Ballymore Stadium and allowed the media to attend for the first 15 minutes before they were asked to leave, as is usually the case during Origin series.
However, footage circulated online, first on the Sydney Morning Herald, of Crichton hobbling from the field.
It left the Blues scrambling for answers as to how the vision got out given it was a private training session.
May chats Origin snub with Matty Johns | 02:11
In fact, there have even been suggestions someone has been filming all of the Blues’ training sessions and that the vision has been given to the Queensland team.
“The Blues don’t know where they’ve got it from,” Braith Anasta said on Fox League’s ‘NRL 360’.
“Laurie Daley and Frank Ponissi are furious. They believe someone inside the camp of Queensland have possibly been spying on the Blues. Now they are worried if they have actually filmed the whole session.”
Daley addressed the issue in his press conference on Tuesday and said that while the team will “have a look” at it, their focus for the moment is on Wednesday’s game.
“You prefer none of that to get out, but when we do our game one review, we’ll have a look at that,” the Blues coach said.
“That’s not my focus at the moment. My focus is on being able to prepare the team, do some little things today just to top off, and we’ll be ready to go.
“I don’t know (if the Maroons were behind it), but you’d like it to be a private session. At the end of the day, it is what it is.
“I’m not concerned about that now, but I’ll worry about that after the camp.”
WHY MUNSTER WON’T BE SAYING MUCH ABOUT NSW RIVAL
NSW Blues enforcer Liam Martin reignited his feud with Cameron Munster earlier in the month, but the Queensland five-eighth has no interest in giving it back — at least for now.
The pair first clashed during the 2021 State of Origin series when Munster put the boot into Martin, literally, as he lay on the ground after a collision midway through the second half of Game 1.
Then, in 2022, Martin made it known he would target Munster’s injured ribs before the Storm five-eighth said ahead of last year’s NRL grand final that he never really liked the Panthers backrower.
Munster later apologised for those comments at the request of his own mother, but the rivalry came to the forefront again this season when he came under scrutiny for a dangerous tackle on Martin and then was involved in a scuffle with the Panthers star near the end of the game.
It is safe to say there is plenty of history between the two, but Munster won’t be giving it much weight in Wednesday’s series opener because he has learned his lesson to let his actions speak for themselves.
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“It’s always a great rivalry when you want to play against the best. He’s one of the best backrowers in the game,” Munster said in a live cross with Fox League’s ‘NRL 360’ on Monday night.
“(He) brings a lot of aggression and never lets any of his teammates down. That’s the type of player that you want to play with and play against. You always want to play against the best and challenge yourself against the best.
“I’ve been sent articles from everyone but unfortunately the last couple of years that I’ve been chirping up it hasn’t gone that way for me. He’s got the wood on me at the moment so I’m just going to keep my comments to myself and hopefully let my footy do the talking on Wednesday.
“Last year in the grand final I probably went a little too much on that and ended up pulling my pants down. So, I’m just going to go out there and play some carefree footy, enjoy it and hopefully get the win.”
Haas given all clear by teammates | 02:28
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