Live updates: State of Origin 2025 Game 1, Queensland Maroons vs NSW Blues in Brisbane, what time does it kick off?

Billy Slater is speaking on Channel 9.

He says that he doesn’t really need to gee up the three debutants.

“I think they know. They grew up in Queensland,” he says.

“They lived and breathed it as a child, idolising this footy team, and now they get the opportunity to go and inspire the next generation.

“So we had a pretty special night here in the dressing room last night for them, and they get the chance to go
out and perform.”

Slater has also praised his veteran leader, Daly Cherry-Evans.

“He’s a great leader. I love I love how he just does his job,” he says.

“I think the greatest leaders consistently do their job for their footy team. And that’s all we ask of him.”

He also admits that he was suffering from a few nerves, but is happy now that the players are into their warmups.

“I was a little bit nervous before. But now they’ve got into the warm up. As you can see behind us, they’re they’re pretty ready to go. So I’m looking forward to them getting their game on.”

Ah good, there are at least a handful of Maroons…

Seems to be a lot of Blues based on the photos we’re seeing.

As Mitch Moses and Nathan Cleary prepare to play together in the Origin arena for the first time, what faces them at Lang Park is a different challenge, wrote ABC Sport’s Nick Campton earlier this month.

How do a pair of the best and most dominant halves in rugby league find a way to fit together?

Both have shown that they can lead teams, but can either of them follow when required?

As Campo writes, how do two quarterbacks become one?

Read more here.

There have been plenty of special players in the State of Origin arena, but Paul Gallen believes Isaah Yeo is one of the greatest locks of all time.

Yeo will lead NSW against Queensland for the first time on Wednesday night in the men’s State of Origin series opener at Lang Park.

“He [Yeo] will be remembered as one of the greats and he deserves it,” Gallen, who was the last lock to captain the Blues, said.

“He is brilliant. The thing about Yeo-y is he is known as a ball-playing lock, but he is more than that.

“He has the ability to play front row. He can play that hard role. If you’re 10 metres out from your own line and you need someone to have a hit up, he will do it.

“But when you’re in the 20-metre zone attacking the tryline, he comes alive. He is alive all over the field.

“He’s got every part of the game you need to be remembered as a great forward.”

Read more here.

At 36 years and 97 days, Maroons captain Daly Cherry-Evans becomes Origin’s oldest player today.

“I’m really not sure how to take that one,” Cherry-Evans told Channel 9 earlier from the team bus.

“Hopefully I’m the oldest winning player tonight.”

Lining up in the centres for Queensland after just 10 NRL matches, Robert Toia will break an Origin record that has stood for almost 50 years.

When Brent Tait made his debut after just 14 games, he said he was too young to realise the enormity of what was happening.

Nick Campton is backing Toia to be the same, saying:

Ten games is not a long time to learn how to be a hero, but 80 minutes of Origin football can be enough to become one.

Read more here.

And there are no changes for the Maroons either, who are also 1-17.

There are no late changes for the Blues, who are 1-17.

That means Stephen Crichton has recovered from that corked thigh.

Looking forward to it, Old timer.

Remember, if you wanted to get in on the conversation, just hit that yellowy button to leave a comment and we’ll get to as many as we can over the course of the night.

Angus Crichton is speaking to Nine now.

“We’ve had a really good week of prep and we’re ready to go,” he says.

He adds that he will be defending outside Mitch Moses tonight.

“I’m excited, man, I think it’s my first time playing outside him, so a lot of work’s been done this week, getting that combo right and making sure I’m in the right spots at the right time for him.”

Daly Cherry-Evans is speaking on Channel 9 from the Maroons bus.

“This is where it all starts to hit you that you’re about to play another game of State of Origin,” DCE says.

“The nerves get in and start to sharpen your focus.

“It’s always a moment I cherish, this bus ride.”

And it’s started with a series of current players walking through a display of old Origin jerseys, interspersed with highlights from across the ages.

“It’s like we’re sitting in a room full of spirits,” one player says.

Emotive stuff, and we’re ready to roll with Origin I.

Mike, I love your optimism.

And look, they’ve even let some Blues in!

A nice bit of cross-code love from the Brisbane Lions towards the Queensland team today.

They wore Maroons jersey’s for their captains run ahead of tomorrow’s AFL clash against Essendon.

The local papers are never shy of courting controversy up in Queensland, and started this series in that similar vein, a back-page headline branding Blues firebrand Spencer Leniu a “grub”.

Leniu no doubt earned his status as the subject of Queensland’s ire due to his spat with Johnathan Thurston earlier this year.

However, Laurie Daley said that Leniu was being unfairly targetted.

“Grub’s a heavy word … he’s a good person,” Daley said.

“He’ll be OK. He’s got a plan, everyone’s got his back and I don’t think the crowd’s going to jump in and do anything.”

It can only be Origin, can’t it?

New South Wales have been given a bit of a reminder of the Origin circus — and that they are very much on enemy territory this week — over the last few days.

Not that it’s bothered Laurie Daley.

“I can’t complain about anything that’s happened this week,” he said yesterday.

“That’s part of Origin, you’ve just got to roll with the punches and not be put off at all.

“There’s always a challenge around Origin time, it doesn’t take away our focus.”

The spying drama came after Stephen Crichton was seen limping from a closed training session, leading to New South Wales ordering staff out of Lang Park during yesterday’s closed training run.

“When it’s a private session (you’re) always disappointed when stuff like that gets leaked,” he said.

“That’ll all be part of the [game one] review when we go through what we could do better.

“We might stop people coming to training; we don’t want to, but that might be part of what we need to do.

“You expect if you invite people in you know the rules.”

This week marks 30 years since Paul Vautin’s side, the so-called ‘Neville Nobodies’, pulled off the biggest upset in Origin history.

Seems like a perfectly apt time for those tales to be re-told, which is exactly what Nick Campton has done.

If you’re a Queenslander, you know the story.

If you’re a Blues fan, you’ve probably tried to forget it.

Either way this is a great piece to get you into the Origin mood.