State Of Origin

The in-form Manly skipper could have done little more to press his claims for the Maroons No.6 jersey left vacant by injuries to Johnathan Thurston and Anthony Milford, or potentially a bench utility role if incumbent Michael Morgan moves to the starting side to partner Cooper Cronk.

The third-placed Sea Eagles haven't lost since going down to Brisbane at Suncorp in Round 10 with Cherry-Evans the equal competition leader for try assists (15) and equal second for line-break assists (14).

Since the State of Origin period began the Cowboys have won five from seven, only losing to the Cronulla Sharks and Melbourne Storm in that time by four points and one point respectively.

The upturn in form coincided with the return of Lachlan Coote and Jake Granville in Round 10, while Michael Morgan stepped up to embrace his new leadership role in the absence of Johnathan Thurston.

Cherry-Evans has not added to his six Origin appearances since 2015 and the Sea Eagles captain's wait will extend to another year after he was snubbed in favour of debutant Ben Hunt for next week's game three against New South Wales in Brisbane.

The 28-year-old half-back's fine form at NRL level saw him emerge as a possible replacement for injured star Johnathan Thurston but Maroons head coach Kevin Walters turned to untried Broncos player Hunt for the do-or-die clash on July 12.

Thurston, who will retire from Maroons duty after this year's matches with New South Wales Blues, missed his first Origin match since 2004 last month - the veteran sidelined through injury as Laurie Daley's side recorded a comprehensive victory in Brisbane.

However, the Australia playmaker was back for game two in Sydney on Wednesday and held his nerve to land a decisive kick in the 78th minute, after Dane Gagai's second try had enabled Queensland to cancel out a 10-point half-time deficit.

Plucked from obscurity after just 14 first grade games for North Sydney, Johnston was one of six debutants rushed into the New South Wales team for Game Two in 1983 but was at Lang Park three years earlier as a member of the NSW under-18s team, a night forever remembered as the one and only time Beetson ever played for Queensland.

They scored five tries to one in a 28-4 romp in front of 50,390 fans on Wednesday night.

Not since Game Three of the 2005 series, the nadir of Queensland's Origin history, has a Maroons team been so humiliated on home soil, NSW scoring inside the final minute of the first half to lead 12-4 at the break and then posting three further tries in the second term to take a 1-0 series lead to Sydney for Game Two on June 21.

Tedesco may be looking for a confidence boost coming from the struggling Wests Tigers into a star-studded NSW Origin team but confidence doesn't look to be a massive issue as it is for the 25-year-old Camden product as he heads into his second Origin game.

"That was my aspiration at the start of the year [to be the world's best fullback]," Tedesco said from Blues camp in Kingscliff this week.

"With all the dramas [at Wests Tigers] and how we've been going, this year probably hasn't gone the way I hoped but I'll still have those aspirations in the future."

Hayne's return to the Blues has been trumpeted south of the border as the return of a prodigal son who after a season in San Francisco is now ready to reclaim his place as the Blues' most influential player on the game's greatest stage.

The camp is the team's first away from Coffs Harbour since 2013, with the initial switch to Coffs coinciding with a drought-breaking series win.

The first session saw Dugan running around during attacking and defensive drills a little under three weeks after suffering a fractured cheekbone in a head-clash with Dragons teammate Russell Packer in the May 5 Anzac Test.

For the first time since Game Three, 2004 a State of Origin match will be played without Thurston after the champion five-eighth was officially withdrawn from the team, freeing the way for Anthony Milford to prepare for his Origin debut without any doubt.

On Wednesday morning Thurston told the media that he remained hopeful of playing his 37th consecutive Origin match but some testing late on Wednesday afternoon and a subsequent scan early Thursday morning confirmed that his shoulder was in no fit state to take the field and the decision was made.