NSW Blues

The Blues, who have won three of the last four series, edged a tight first half 14-12 before scoring five unanswered tries in the second.

Penrith Panthers half-back Nathan Cleary, 24, converted all seven NSW tries, scoring two himself and kicking a penalty goal for a 24-point haul.

Queensland won game one 16-10 and host the decider in Brisbane on 13 July.

After Cleary's early penalty for the Blues, Queensland second row Felise Kaufusi touched down and Valentine Holmes converted to put them 6-2 ahead.

Both teams scored a try in the opening half but Valentine Holmes' conversion handed Queensland a lead at the break.

The visitors went further in front after the interval with tries from Daly Cherry-Evans and Holmes.

Cameron Murray pulled one back for the hosts but Queensland were able to hang on.

"That was the response that we wanted and any player who played last year, we wanted the chance to come back and show that the jersey means something to us, and it was a good start," said Queensland skipper Cherry-Evans.

Koroisau was fined $35,000 fine suspended for two games by the NRL following NSW’s series win after it emerged he had breached the game’s code of conduct by bringing a person into the team's strict bubble during the Origin series.  

The incident raised questions around whether Koroisau would be allowed back into another Blues campaign under Brad Fittler given the NSW coach's work with the team's culture in recent years.

Luai, who was part of NSW’s Origin II triumph on Sunday, has previously represented the Pacific nation.

Samoa are in the midst of a coaching crisis with Matt Parish and the nation’s board off-side with a number of leading players, including Luai and Queensland’s Josh Papalii.

Luai has in the past indicated he wanted to help Samoa mirror the growth of Tonga on the international stage, but Meninga encouraged the Penrith five-eighth to change his allegiance.

After their successful encounter in game one, the Blues showed electrifying performance last night, running in three first-half tries to have an 18-0 advantage at half time.

NSW had not won consecutive games in Queensland since 1996-1998, when the Blues won four straight in enemy territory.

Game 3 is scheduled for July 14 at Stadium Australia, however, the NRL is considering moving the game as a result of Covid-19 restrictions.

Cordner's decision comes a little over two months after his Sydney Roosters team mate Jake Friend, who was co-captain with him at the NRL club, cited head injuries as his reason for quitting the sport.

"My heart was telling me I wanted to play on, and I was doing everything I possibly could, but my mind and my head was telling me otherwise, it was dragging me the other way," Cordner said.

"For once in my life and my career I had to put my health and my happiness first. It was an extremely tough decision to make."

Trbojevic scored his second Origin hat-trick and set up another as he popped up all over the field, helping NSW blow the Maroons off the park in the series opener.

Fellow centre Latrell Mitchell was also superb with his own double in his Origin return, while debutant winger Brian To'o also bagged two tries.

The Blues backs were too strong and too fast for Queensland, who weren't able to take advantage of a one-sided home crowd of 27,533 in Townsville's maiden Origin.

The livewire Panthers dummy half is 18th man for the Blues in Townsville, which means he won't be available for the depleted Panthers in their quest to remain unbeaten on Friday night.

Panthers coach Ivan Cleary delivered Koroisau his selection news on Sunday morning before mapping out his own plan to fill seven vacant spots for the clash with Wests Tigers at Leichhardt Oval.

Cleary will likely turn to Mitch Kenny to replace Koroisau at hooker.

The contract will see Addo-Carr at Canterbury through to the end of 2025 and is the latest signing in the Bulldogs' rebuilding effort.

The deal is worth more than $500,000 a season and makes Addo-Carr the highest-paid winger in the competition.

Bulldogs chief executive Andrew Hill said the signing of the 25-year-old was "another building block" in the new-look squad.

In another series first, Adelaide will host a match for the first time, with the players flying in from Queensland and NSW on the day of the game.

The game is expected to be a sell-out, with a COVID-capped crowd of 26,500 in attendance.

Winners of the last two series, New South Wales are clear favourites to make it a hat-trick this year.

The Blues line-up features some of the biggest names in the game, with coach Brad Fittler jamming his team with a range of experienced, high-quality players.