The State of Origin series is now in full swing, with New South Wales levelling the series with a dominant display at ANZ Stadium last week.
Meanwhile, Queensland will be looking to seal an unlikely series win on home turf after taking Game I at the Adelaide Oval.
Not since the days of Fatty Vautin's 'Nevilles' in 1995 has Origin ever seen. potential boil-over of this magnitude.
A win for the Blues will see them claim their first series 'three-peat' since 2005.
There's plenty to look forward to, especially if you're an nib Newcastle Knights fan, with three of our boys in the respective squads.
We've broken it all down, with a special Knights focus ahead of the big game!
NEW SOUTH WALES v QUEENSLAND
Date: Wednesday, November 18
Kick-off: 8:10pm AEDT
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
WATCH IT LIVE
The game will be broadcast live and exclusive on Channel Nine's Wide World of Sports. Coverage begins from 7:30pm.
HEAD TO HEAD
Played: 119
QLD: 63
NSW: 54
Draws: 2
THE SERIES SO FAR
Blues crush Maroons to set up Suncorp Decider
TEAMS
UPDATE | Edrick Lee will make his Origin debut after Xavier Coates succumbed to a leg injury.
Wayne Bennett confirmed Corey Allan would start at fullback with Valentine Holmes on the wing. Brenko Lee (groin) will debut in the centres if he is passed fit, as expected, with Kurt Capewell moving to the second row. Jaydn Su’A will switch to the bench and Dunamis Lui drops back to the reserves.
Both teams will be updated 24 hours out from kick off.
Queensland had already made three changes to their 17 for the decider, with Corey Allen and Rookie of the Year Harry Grant to debut, while Christian Welch returns to the front row.
That left Phillip Sami, Moeaki Fotuaika and Ben Hunt dropping out of the side.
Meanwhile, the Blues are expected to field the same team which crushed Queensland 34-10 in Sydney.
nib Newcastle Knights prop Daniel Saifiti has been named to start in the front row for the Blues, while Edrick Lee and Hymel Hunt both missed out on spots in the Queensland backline.
Lee remains a chance of playing after being named in jersey No.19 on Queensland's extended bench.
Queensland
1. Valentine Holmes, 19. Edrick Lee, 3. Kurt Capewell, 4. Dane Gagai, 5. Corey Allen, 6. Cameron Munster, 7. Daly Cherry-Evans (c), 8. Christian Welch, 9. Jake Friend, 10. Josh Papalii, 11. Felise Kaufusi, 12. Jaydn Su'A, 13. Tino Fa'asuamaleaui. Interchange: 14. Harry Grant, 15. Lindsay Collins, 16. Jai Arrow, 17. Dunamis Lui, 18. Ben Hunt, 20. Moeaki Fotuaika, 21. Brenko Lee.
New South Wales
1. James Tedesco (c), 2. Daniel Tupou, 3. Clint Gutherson, 4. Jack Wighton, 5. Josh Addo-Carr, 6. Cody Walker, 7. Nathan Cleary, 8. Daniel Saifiti, 9. Damien Cook, 10. Payne Haas, 11. Angus Crichton, 12. Tyson Frizell, 13. Jake Trbojevic. Interchange: 14. Dale Finucane, 15. Junior Paulo, 16. Nathan Brown, 17. Isaah Yeo, 18. Ryan Papenhuyzen, 19. Jarome Luai, 20. Cam McInnes, 21. Nick Cotric.
D-SAF'S D LEADS THE WAY
Daniel Saifiti continues to impress in the Origin arena as he goes into his fifth straight game at the highest level.
He lead the Blues pack in run metres in Game I, and while he again impressed with the footy last week, it was his desire without it that made the difference in Game II.
Saifiti made 21 tackles in Sydney without a single miss, while his tackle efficiency was well over 95%.
He also pulled off some memorable shots, drilling the Maroons and killing their spirit as they attempted a second half fightback.
SOLD OUT SUNCORP
In what can only be seen as a hilarious troll towards New South Wales, the Queensland government has announced stadiums in the sunshine state will be aloud to hold 100% of their capacity from November 18.
Just in time for the decider.
With borders still closed to the greater Sydney region, it his highly unlikely there will be any substantial New South Wales presence in the 52,000-strong crowd at Suncorp Stadium.
Advantage Queensland.
The crowd will also be the biggest anywhere in the world post coronavirus, which is an incredible milestone on its own.
DÈJÁ-BLUE
It's undeniable now. This series is playing out scarily similar to last year.
A Queensland upset in Game I followed by a dominant response by the Blues.
Game I (18-14) was the exact same scoreline, while Game II (34-10) was near identical to the year prior (38-6).
Does this mean we'll see a thrilling decider that is decided by the final play? We certainly hope so.
DEFYING DECIDER HISTORY
If New South Wales are to pull off a historic three-peat, they'll need to defy Origin history to do it.
The Blues had lost seven Origin deciders on the trot before James Tedesco's match winner in the 80th minute last year. The last decider won by New South Wales before then was way back in 2005.
Overall, they've won just five out of 20 deciders in Origin's 40 year history.
The 2005 win, lead by Andrew Johns in his last ever Origin game, ironically came at Suncorp Stadium after the Blues lost the opening game.
Watch: Joey masterclass clinches '05 decider
WAYNE'S NEW WORLD
Wayne Bennett has continued his theme for this series by naming four more debutants in Edrick Lee, Brenko Lee, Harry Grant and Corey Allen for Game III.
The duo join the likes of AJ Brimson, Xavier Coates, Phillip Sami, Jake Friend, Tino Fa’asumaleau, Lindsay Collins, Jaydn Su'A, Kurt Capewell, Moeaki Fotuaika, Dunamis Lui, Clint Gutherson, Luke Keary, Isaah Yeo, Nathan Brown and Junior Paulo in making their Origin debuts in 2020.
For those counting, that's 17 debutants in a single series.
NSW STAT ATTACK
Completion rates will be key for the Blues if they're to take victory on Wednesday night.
In Game I, they completed at just 75%. They improved to 89% on their way to a dominant Game II win.
It could easily be argued this stat was the difference between winning and losing both games.
QLD STAT ATTACK
The Maroons have won 64% of all games played at Suncorp Stadium.
The Cauldron has lived up to its reputation in recent years, with the Blues winning just one game north of the border in the last five years.
