Premiership winner to replace Fittler as Blues coach

Michael Maguire looks poised to take the reins of the New South Wales men's State of Origin team after Brad Fittler's exit.The Sydney Morning Herald reports the NSWRL has offered Maguire the job, while other outlets say he has informed his NRL club Canberra he will accept the Blues role.Fittler's six-year tenure in charge of the Blues ended last month when he turned down an offer from the NSWRL which would have seen him become a part-time employee.Maguire, 49, coached South Sydney to the 2014 NRL premiership. He also coached the Wests Tigers for three years, and is currently head coach of New Zealand's Test team.

Fittler's secret Origin 'gamble' revealed

Blues coach Brad Fittler is set to roll the dice and put Origin rookie Reece Robson in his starting side for next Wednesday night's crucial clash with Queensland.Robson has been named on the bench and the Blues were expected to start the game with Souths' Damien Cook at number nine following the loss of Api Koroisau through injury.But Wide World of Sports has learned that Fittler has been training behind closed doors with Cowboys rake Robson in the starting XIII and Cook on the bench.The move is a massive gamble considering Cook is a veteran of 16 Origins since debuting in 2018 and Robson has yet to wear the sky blue jumper.Robson's toughness and durability - he has played every minute of all the Cowboys' 14 games this year - have won over Fittler and his assistant Greg Alexander.Cook is not out of the Blues' plans, however. He has dynamic acceleration and speed out of dummyhalf and Fittler is counting on him to blow the game open against the tiring Queensland forwards when he is thrown into the game, probably late in the first half.There has been speculation about the hooker switch in recent days - but WWOS has been told it will definitely be happening and the Blues are committed to starting with Robson.

Eight new faces named in Freddy's Blues squad

New South Wales coach Brad Fittler has unveiled his team for the 2023 State of Origin opener.The team includes three debutants in Tevita Pangai Junior, Nicho Hynes and Hudson Young. They are among eight faces named in this team who didn't play game three last year.Josh Addo-Carr has also been recalled, as has Latrell Mitchell. A hat-trick against the Raiders on Sunday afternoon was enough to secure Tom Trbojevic's place in the side. He missed last year's series due to injury.Speaking on Nine's Today, Fittler said the decision to choose Api Koroisau over Damien Cook was tough."I think going down to the last couple of weeks, Api's form and his relationship with the players in the team has been long," Fittler said.

Josh Addo-Carr (Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs), Nathan Cleary (Penrith Panthers), Tyson Frizell (Newcastle Knights), Payne Haas (Brisbane Broncos), Nicho Hynes (Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks), Apisai Koroisau (Wests Tigers), Jarome Luai (Penrith Panthers), Liam Martin (Penrith Panthers), Latrell Mitchell (South Sydney Rabbitohs), Cameron Murray (South Sydney Rabbitohs), Tevita Pangai Junior (Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs), Junior Paulo (Parramatta Eels), James Tedesco (c) (Sydney Roosters), Brian To'o (Penrith Panthers), Tom Trbojevic (Manly Warringah Sea Eagles), Isaah Yeo (Penrith Panthers), Hudson Young (Canberra Raiders), 18th player – Campbell Graham (South Sydney Rabbitohs).

Sharks poised to pounce on Eel

The Eels' NRLW team is in danger of losing star winger and co-captain Tiana Penitani to Cronulla.The Sharks are one of the four new teams to enter the competition in July and are chasing Penitani, 27, with a vengeance.The dual league and union international has already represented the Sharks in the NSWRL women's premiership.However the problem is that the flying winger is under contract to the Eels for the coming season - and the club wants to keep her.For Penitani, it's largely a case of geography - she lives near Cronulla and is tired of the many kilometres - and tollways - to Eels territory.Parramatte is standing its ground, though, and unlikely to release the long-striding winger unless the club can strike a player swap with a suitable replacement from the Sharks.

The 30-year Origin hoodoo haunting NSW

It's almost 30 years since a Blues team came back to win a State of Origin series after losing the opener in Sydney, but two stars of that memorable NSW team of 1994 have laid down a blueprint for Brad Fittler's men to follow.Brilliant fullback Tim Brasher and giant back-rower Paul Sironen admitted things looked bleak for the Blues when Mark Coyne scored the famous last-minute try to win the Queenslanders an epic Game One that series."I know how this team feels - because it's the same way we felt back in '94," Sironen, now a member of the Blues' management team, told Wide World of Sports from Perth."When you have game one at home you just have to win it - and we blew it."We didn't play as well as we could have and we didn't execute the way we trained and we knew we were really going to be up against it for the rest of the series."We levelled the series in Melbourne and it then all came down to the decider in Brisbane."Brasher has vivid memories of the lead-up to the all-important third match at Lang Park."Everyone was telling us about Lang Park being the cauldron and how we would cop it up there and I must admit I wasn't all that confident in the week leading up to the game," Brasher said."But then on game night, as our team bus went down Caxton Street and they came out of the pub and shook the bus and threw bottles at us, I think that actually did us a favour."It galvanised us, gave us a siege mentality and we were determined to go all the way."The Blues won the decider 27-12, with a young Brad Fittler playing in the centres.

Legends cop staggering State of Origin snub

State of Origin is months away - but Wally Lewis has lit the fuse for an explosive series by naming his Origin 'Dream Team' for the first time.Remarkably, 'The King' has found room for just one New South Welshman in his XIII - barnstorming winger Eric Grothe.Lewis has brushed Blues legends like Andrew Johns, Brett Kenny, Brad Fittler, Peter Sterling, Ray Price and Steve Roach in a move that is certain to have NSW fired up come Origin time. Fullback: Billy Slater, Wing: Kerry Boustead, Centre: Gene Miles, Centre: Mal Meninga, Wing: Eric Grothe, Five-eighth: Darren Lockyer, Halfback: Johnathan Thurston, Second-row: Paul Vautin, Second-row: Trevor Gillmeister, Lock: Gorden Tallis, Prop: Arthur Beetson, Hooker: Cameron Smith, Prop: Greg Dowling and Coach: Wayne Bennett.