State of Origin Game 2 NSW Blues vs Queensland Maroons live updates, Optus Stadium Perth, kick-off time, Billy Slater, Aaron Woods, Paul Green
Welcome to news.com.au's live coverage of Game 2 in this year's State of Origin series.
Following a dominant NSW victory in the series opener, Queensland has to win Game 2 in Perth on Wednesday night to avoid a second consecutive series defeat.
FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer.
After an unusually subdued build-up to Game 1, which NSW claimed 18-6 in Brisbane, a feud between Maroons coach Billy Slater and former Blue Aaron Woods has dominated talk ahead of Game 2 in Perth.
Woods called Slater a 'grub' last week, with the former fullback responding in an extraordinary press conference on Tuesday when he referenced mental health concerns and the death of former Queensland coach Paul Green.
Slater, 41, then fronted another press conference on game day to apologise for those remarks in a saga that has quickly been labelled 'Grubgate'.
It has all created a strange and slightly uncomfortable air ahead of Game 2, which will be held in front of a bumper crowd at Perth's Optus Stadium.
The match kicks off at 8.05pm AEST and we'll have all the big hits and major talking points for you right here.
Originally published as State of Origin Game 2 NSW vs Queensland live: Paul Green's family responds to Billy Slater
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News.com.au
37 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Murwillumbah preview: Trainer Ethan Ensby is optimistic as in-form mare Rainbow Lass faces a new challenge
In-form mare Rainbow Lass isn't just chasing a hat-trick of wins, she is on trial for a possible feature race target at next month's Grafton carnival. Following two solid wins over 1000m and 1200m on her home track at Casino, trainer Ethan Ensby feels to time is right to test Rainbow Lass over a longer distance in the Benchmark 58 Handicap (1550m). 'She is going enormous at the moment,' said Ensby. 'She is obviously stepping up to the 1500m for the first time and being by Pariah, she probably isn't bred to get that far but at home, my partner rides her work and she is showing us she is that 1400m to a mile type. 'She sat three-wide working up the hill at Casino over the 1200 metres last start which is like running 1300 or 1400 metres. Hare Street flies home to cause a boilover at Ballina! ðŸ'° â€' SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) April 8, 2025 The Form: Complete NSW Racing thoroughbred form, including video replays and all you need to know about every horse, jockey and trainer. Find a winner here! 'She does like a wet track so the Soft 7 will suit her. My only concerns are the weight, she carriers 58.5kg after Izzy's (Neale) claim, and the gate if she happens to blow the start like she has been known to do. 'If she gets out and into a good position, she should be very competitive. 'If she happens to win this race, I might aim her at the Grafton Guineas.' Ensby is looking forward to seeing Mahuika Maroi make her race debut in the Country Boosted Maiden Handicap (1200m). The three-year-old has been safely beaten in both her barrier trials but Ensby said things didn't go as he'd hoped on either occasion. 'When she trialled at the Gold Coast, it was supposed to be on the B Grass but they switched to polytrack which I wasn't very happy about. 'I didn't want to trial on the poly but with the weather the way it was, she had to go around and use it as a bit of a gallop and hope for the best. 'She wasn't put under any pressure that day. 'We then went to Grafton for her next trial and she slipped coming out of the gates on the wet track and tweaked a muscle hence while it's been a while until her first start. 'She finds a really nice race start off in and although the 1200 metres will be short of her best, I think she will run a nice race with the expectation she will be better for it.' Ensby has Shez Mysterious and Gold Puma in the Maiden Handicap (1550m) but is leaning towards splitting the pair and saving the later for either Port Macquarie or Lismore during the week. Shez Mysterious failed on her home track on May 30 but Ensby feels it is worth forgetting that run and judge her on her first two starts. The daughter of So You Think debuted with a fourth to Rainbow Lass on a Heavy 10 at Casino before coming from a conspicuous last when beaten just over a length in fourth place at Inverell on May 23. 'I think the heavy track and the quick back-up went against her last start. She just didn't handle it,' he said. 'I think it would pay to forgive her for that. 'I've given her a bit of time since then and the beauty of training at the farm is it allows me to put her out during the day. 'He first-up run at Casino was encouraging then second-up, she stood like a deer in the headlights in the barrier at Inverell and came out a clear last. 'She really closed of strongly though. 'I give her a really good chance with Ben Looker on board from barrier 1.' ADAM SHERRY'S TOP SELECTIONS BEST BET Race 6 No. 1: SAXINOUE Unbeaten second-up and steps up to a suitable trip. NEXT BEST Race 8 No. 11: LUCKY NEKO Led all-the-way last start and can go back-to-back. VALUE BET Race 4 No. 7: FEATHERTOP Handy effort after a wide run last start. Looking for the extra trip. QUADDIE Race 5: 2, 5 Race 6: 1, 5 Race 7: 1, 3, 5 Race 8: 2, 11 JOCKEY TO FOLLOW Hard to go past JETT NEWMAN in the TAB Jockey Challenge with her strong book of rides. INSIDE MAIL – MURWILLUMBAH RACE 1: MURWILLUMBAH CUP AUGUST 22 COUNTRY BOOSTED MAIDEN HANDICAP 1200m HERALD ANGEL (2) settled midfield and worked home nicely between horses to finish a neck second behind the tough Diva's Reign on debut at Grafton. Will take benefit from the experience. GAVIN (3) finished a couple of close placings along with two fourths last campaign. MAHUIKA MAROI (4) is a first starter by Redwood. Wasn't pushed when third to Olivershare on an unsuitable synthetic track in her Gold Coast trial. Bred to get over further. â– â– â– â– â– NO RAGRETS (5) broke through with a big win from Barron at Ballina last start. Led and kicked away to win by nearly four lengths. Will take plenty of confidence out of that. ODETTE'S ORCHID (6) likes to lead or be right up on speed. Forced to settled near midfield when last on a Heavy 10 at Ballina first-up. Will be fitter for the run, appreciate a firmer track and can bounce back. HUMPHREE BEAR (2) missed the kick and was well back throughout first-up. Chance on Grafton win from Rainbow Lass. â– â– â– â– â– SIGLO DE ORO (1) raced outside the leader and boxed on well for a two length fourth behind Make A Call when resuming over 1110m at Doomben. Back to 1010m and was beaten a nose at his only run at this trip. DARE TO LOVE (5) finished a half-length in front of Siglo De Oro when third in that Doomben race. Buffeted at start and worked early when seventh at Doomben last start. Will find this easier. MISS LINNY (7) will be better over further but can run well first-up. â– â– â– â– â– FEATHERTOP (7) ran handy races in his first two runs back at Doomben. Raced three-wide midfield when a two length seventh to Fiorsum Fred in a 1600m Highway at Scone on May 17. Up to 2000m now. Stablemate FULL OF SINCERITY (1) resumed with a good win at Ballina before a long neck third at Ipswich. Just behind the placegetters over 2200m in two runs since. Gets a 2kg claim. 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Drops back to 1200m but drawn well and gets a 2kg claim again. FLAME TREE STAR (3) resumes here and has placed in both first-up runs. Was beaten a short half head by Neil over 1100m fresh up last time in. SUPERZOOM (6) had a tough run at Warwick last start and has been freshened. Is a winner this track and distance.
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Jed Stuart, son of NRL legend Ricky, scores on dream NRL debut
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Sydney Morning Herald
6 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Do the people of Perth care about rugby league? Here's what we learnt in Origin week
At a guess, 75 per cent of people were in some sort of Origin merchandise. Surely, they were interstate travellers, right? But of the 57,000-strong crowd in attendance, only 13,000 travelled from other states to watch the game. On top of the 44,000 locals in the crowd, another 190,000 watched from their Perth lounge rooms – more than recent round's free-to-air audience for the Fremantle Dockers and West Coast Eagles games. Of course, those figures don't include the number of people watching AFL matches on Kayo, but they do at least make you wonder if West Australian editor Chris Dore was right when he said 'if we had a league readership here, we would be covering it' when asked why his newspaper had buried its Origin coverage next to the escort-services page on the day of the game. This is the same newspaper that six years earlier, before the first Origin game was played in Perth, was championing the cause that the city should have its own NRL team. The Bears will have enough challenges without worrying about that. Rugby league by the numbers in Perth In 2018, the NRL kicked off the NRL season with a double header at Optus Stadium. The fixture attracted a crowd of 38,824 attendees, with 20 per cent out-of-state visitors In 2019 and 2022, the NRL's marquee State of Origin delivered more than $25m direct economic expenditure impact into WA, with over 116,000 visitor nights and nearly 20,000 out-of-state visitors. In 2023, the Dolphins first visit to Perth drew a crowd of over 45,000. In 2024, the Dolphins-Roosters NRL game at HBF Park sold out quickly with the match setting a new attendance record at the venue. In 2025 the recent Sharks-Manly and Rabbitohs-Cowboys double header attracted a crowd of 31,347. The 2025 Perth Origin sold out with more than 57,000 fans, of which 13,000 came from other states. Record ratings for Perth (190k) for game two of this year's Origin series, up from 169,000 in game one. It was the second-biggest consumption of food and beverage at Optus Stadium, surpassed only by the AFL grand final in 2021. Let's face it, the NRL has made things hard for them by insisting they operate from the start on a level playing field and not offering them any salary cap dispensation, as the AFL has done when setting up new franchises. Even in the NRL, expansion team Papua New Guinea will come into the competition in 2028 with the added bonus of being able to offer players a tax-free income. Not since the Melbourne Storm almost three decades ago has a team been asked to convince 30 players to move interstate, away from family and friends. The Dolphins had the luxury of having their own junior nursery and signing a bunch of players who already lived in south-east Queensland. The state of rugby league in Perth There are currently around 5000 registered participants in Western Australia. When the Western Reds were in the competition, participation numbers were in between 15,000-20,000. The NRL aims to double participation in WA in 5 years and reach 30,000 participants in 10 years. In 2025, registrations are currently trending for WA's best year since the days of the Western Reds. 240 schools are currently engaged in rugby league programs in WA with elite rugby league programs in six schools. With the Perth Bears and government support, it is hoped to drive this number to more than 500 schools and establish and elite schoolboy/girl competitions in WA. That means the Bears will have to pay overs for more players, creating an unbalanced roster in a town where they can't just go down to the local ground and find the next best kid. If you are player 19-30 on the roster, or one of the club's development players, you could be making a 10-hour return trip each week to represent the North Sydney Bears in NSW Cup, if the club decides to adopt that development-pathway model. As one rival NRL club representative said during the week: 'I'm glad our players have just done this trip, now they won't sign with the Bears.' Their coach Mal Meninga proved incredibly popular with the locals during his recent trip to the west for Origin II, which is a huge positive. But it must also be remembered that, despite an impeccable record of coaching at representative level for Queensland and Australia, he hasn't coached a club team since 2001. With that will come uncertainty. Loading Similarly, the Bears' chief executive Anthony de Ceglie is a well-connected figure in Perth, which again is a huge positive. But, by his own admission, he has very little rugby league IQ. None of that means the Bears won't – or can't – be a success, but the challenges are real. Time is of the essence and much of this team's success will hinge on its ability to arrive with a bang and not a succession of wooden spoons as it figures itself out.
