RUGBY LEAGUE
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NSW skipper Robbie Farah has backed the Blues new-look spine to deliver in a David and Goliath battle with as many as three future Immortals on Wednesday night.
Queensland will start favourites in State of Origin I, despite the Blues' home-ground advantage, as they look to wrest back the shield they held for eight consecutive years and the men wearing the numbers nine, seven, six and one have plenty to do with it.
Between them, the Maroons quartet of Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk, Jonathan Thurston and Billy Slater boast 102 Origin games, six Dally M medals and four Golden Boot awards.
Cronk missed all but the opening nine minutes of games one and two last year but returned for game three. With him on the field, Queensland outscored NSW 36-8 across the three games.
The Storm sit at the top of the NRL ladder on the back of their big three, while Thurston is favourite to claim a record fourth Dally M after spearheading the Cowboys to seven straight wins en route to the Queensland camp.
In contrast, NSW will field a new spine with Josh Dugan to fill the Jarryd Hayne void at the back and Trent Hodkinson looking to reprise his 2014 heroics alongside the recalled Mitchell Pearce in the halves. Dugan has embraced his role as Blues saviour but Hodkinson has battled poor form at club level and Pearce is yet to shake off the stench of previous failures in the Origin arena.
Farah has never been in awe of big-name opponents and set the tone for the Blues' series win last year when he stated publicly that he didn't feel Smith - regarded by many as the game's best ever No 9 - was a superior to him. He said the NSW spine will take the same attitude into game one.
"We've had everyone training since day one which I think is important," Farah said.
"Both [Pearce and Hodkinson] settled in really well and we've done the work, so we're confident. I've seen Mitch grow as a player and a person in the last 18 months. He's really become a leader at the Roosters and you can see that here. There's a lot of scrutiny on him and the past, and a lot of that's unfair I think. Hopefully everyone can just get off his back and let him play his game."