State of Origin II Match Report - Contains Spoilers!
All of the pre-match chat was about whether the loss of Cooper Cronk would tip the balance away from his Maroons and to the Blues for the crucial second State of Origin match at the MCG. Cronk was ruled out through a knee injury which may also keep him out of the final Origin game, and replaced by Daly Cherry-Evans.



The Blues were the ones chasing the win to level the three match series. The news of the return of Paul Gallen will have bolstered those New South Wales supporters praying for a victory, although some pundits were suggesting that he might have been rushed back and was not match fit.



The bookies had Queensland as slight favourites for the win but only -2 on the handicap coupon, probably based more on the win from Origin I rather than the team changes ahead of today's game.

READ MORE ON THIS STORY...

State of Origin II Match Report - Contains Spoilers!
All of the pre-match chat was about whether the loss of Cooper Cronk would tip the balance away from his Maroons and to the Blues for the crucial second State of Origin match at the MCG. Cronk was ruled out through a knee injury which may also keep him out of the final Origin game, and replaced by Daly Cherry-Evans.



The Blues were the ones chasing the win to level the three match series. The news of the return of Paul Gallen will have bolstered those New South Wales supporters praying for a victory, although some pundits were suggesting that he might have been rushed back and was not match fit.



The bookies had Queensland as slight favourites for the win but only -2 on the handicap coupon, probably based more on the win from Origin I rather than the team changes ahead of today's game.

READ MORE ON THIS STORY...