Both Wests Tigers and the Gold Coast Titans will be sweating on the return of their Origin stars when they do battle this Friday night at Campbelltown Sports Stadium.
Ivan Cleary and Neil Henry have both named their respective Origin players to back up from the clash, leaving less than 48 hours between Friday's 7:50pm kickoff and Origin Game II.
Following on from Saturday's heartbreaking defeat to the Cronulla Sharks, Cleary has welcomed back James Tedesco and Aaron Woods in a number of changes to last week's team, with Kevin Naiqama returning to the wing and Malakai Watene-Zelezniak back to the reserves.
Esan Marsters retains his spot in the centres after scoring a try in his first starting appearance last season, while Woods starts up front alongside Ava Seumanufagai.
Jacob Liddle has been named to make his first start in the NRL, with Matt McIlwrick dropping back to the interchange bench alongside last week's debutant Matt Eisenhuth.
Eisenhuth was named Player's Player after an impressive debut performance, and has deservedly retained his spot alongside McIlwrick, JJ Felise and Michael Chee Kam on the bench.
Watene-Zelezniak, Jack Littlejohn and Joel Edwards have all been named amongst the reserves, while Alex Twal — who was signed effective immediately from the Parramatta Eels earlier on Tuesday — has been named in jersey 21 and could be in line to make his NRL debut.
For the Titans, Jarryd Hayne, Nathan Peats and Jarrod Wallace have all been named to back-up from Origin duties, while Tyrone Roberts returning into the halves with Ash Taylor.
Roberts' inclusion pushes Wests Tigers 2018 recruit Chris McQueen back on to the edge, while Anthony Don and William Zillman return to the wing in place of Phillip Sami and John Olive.
Max King starts in place of Joe Greenwood, while Leivaha Pulu has been ruled out for four to six weeks with appendictis. Eddy Pettybourne also drops out of the squad.
Be there at Campbelltown Stadium when we take on the Titans for Friday Night Football!
WESTS TIGERS
In's | Aaron Woods, James Tedesco
Out's | Tim Grant
Reserves | Malakai Watene-Zelezniak, Jack Littlejohn, Joel Edwards, Alex Twal
Unavailable | Tim Grant (suspended), Chris Lawrence (hamstring), Josh Aloiai (hamstring), Matt Ballin (knee), Jamal Idris (ACL), Justin Hunt (leg)
1. James Tedesco
2. David Nofoaluma
3. Esan Marsters
4. Moses Suli
5. Kevin Naiqama
6. Tuimoala Lolohea
7. Luke Brooks
8. Aaron Woods (capt.)
9. Jacob Liddle
10. Ava Seumanufagai
11. Sauaso Sue
12. Kyle Lovett
13. Elijah Taylor
Interchange:
14. Matt Eisenhuth
15. JJ Felise
16. Michael Chee Kam
17. Matt McIlwrick
Reserves:
18. Malakai Watene-Zelezniak
19. Jack Littlejohn
20. Joel Edwards
21. Alex Twal
Coach: Ivan Cleary
GOLD COAST TITANS
In's | Anthony Don, Jarrod Wallace, Jarryd Hayne, Nathan Peats, Tyrone Roberts
Out's | Eddy Pettybourne, Leivaha Pulu
Reserves | Paterika Vaivai, Nathaniel Peteru, Agnatius Paasi, Jamal Fogarty, Phillip Sami
Unavailable | Ryan Simpkins (knee), Dan Sarginson (shoulder), Chris Grevsmuhl (shoulder), Karl Lawton (shoulder), Kane Elgey (sternum), Agnatius Paasi (appendictis)
1. Jarryd Hayne
2. Anthony Don
3. Dale Copley
4. Konrad Hurrell
5. William Zillman
6. Tyrone Roberts
7. Ash Taylor
8. Jarrod Wallace
9. Nathan Peats
10. Ryan James (capt.)
11. Kevin Proctor
12. Chris McQueen
13. Max King
Interchange:
14. John Olive
15. Pat Politoni
16. Morgan Boyle
17. Joe Greenwood
Reserves:
18. Paterika Vaivai
19. Nathaniel Peteru
20. Agnatius Paasi
21. Jamal Fogerty
22. Phillip Sami
Coach: Neil Henry
