With 17 teams, byes every week and a season where more games need to be played, the impacts of State of Origin will be as big as they have been in 2023 since prior to the Gold Coast Titans joining the competition.
In previous years, every team would play only one game prior to a State of Origin game and without stars.
That has gone out the back window in 2023 though, with no week off before Origin 2, and more than half of the competition playing prior to each Origin game.
The Origin period stretches from Round 13 to Round 20 as follows:
- Round 13: Before Origin 1 - Origin players not allowed to play.
- Round 14: After Origin 1 - Origin players backing up.
- Round 15: Normal round.
- Round 16: Before Origin 2 - Origin players not allowed to play.
- Round 17: After Origin 2 - Origin players backing up.
- Round 18: Normal round.
- Round 19: Before Origin 3 - Origin players not allowed to play.
- Round 20: After Origin 3 - Origin players backing up.
Following the announcement of both squads on Monday morning, here is how your team will be impacted by the State of Origin window.
NSW Blues Game 1 squad
QLD Maroons Game 1 squad
Note: This article assumes squads would remain the same across the Origin series.
Manly Sea Eagles
Current ladder position: 9th, 13 points, -8
Players selected: Daly Cherry-Evans, Tom Trbojevic
Origin period fixtures: Round 13: vs Knights (a), Round 14: Bye, Round 15: vs Dolphins (h), Round 16: vs Eels (a), Round 17: vs Storm (a), Round 18: vs Roosters (h), Round 19: Bye, Round 20: vs Cowboys (h)
The Sea Eagles have often struggled without Tom Trbojevic and Daly Cherry-Evansย and will be put to task over the Origin period, playing prior to Origin and 1 and 3.
They take on the Knights and Eels - both away - but with both of those sides struggling, it presents a pair of winnable games even without their star spine members.
They have the bye after Origin 1 but will back up from Origin 2 and 3 against the Storm away and Cowboys at home respectively with both to be played on Saturday evening.
Cherry-Evans may back up, but given Trbojevic's history with injury, he is almost no chance of playing either of those crunch games.
Liam Martin was also picked for the Panthers?