NSW’s backline changed again on Saturday morning when Casey McLean was ruled out of Origin II and Mark Nawaqanitawase was moved into the starting line-up for next week’s game at the MCG. The switch came after McLean strained his right thigh about 15 minutes into training in Gosford, ending his shot at a second straight Origin appearance.
The timing matters because Nawaqanitawase is now set to make his Origin debut in game two, while Jack Bostock has been called into Blues camp to fill the bench spot he leaves behind. That reshuffle gives NSW a new look on the eve of Wednesday night’s match and turns one injury into a debut opportunity.
McLean had only just been building back after an ankle injury suffered in the Panthers’ win over the Tigers on June 7, and he had been in the mix after playing an important part in the Blues’ second-half comeback in game one when he came on for a concussed Tolu Koula. He warmed up with the squad in Gosford on Saturday before going down in the session, then had physios and trainers working on him on the field while the rest of the squad kept training. An hour later, he was officially ruled out.
Frank Ponissi said medical staff believed the problem would keep McLean out for seven to 10 days and stressed that the thigh strain was on the opposite side to the ankle issue. That is the hard edge of the selection call: NSW had a player tracking well after one setback, only for a new one to take him out before he could even get through the session that mattered most.
Nawaqanitawase was named on the wing, with Tolu Koula to move to centre, and Ponissi said the side was comfortable with what the newcomer brings after fitting in quickly with the group. Bostock’s promotion keeps the bench covered after he played in the Dolphins’ 48-10 win over the Roosters on Friday night, a result that stretched their winning run to the last six matches and left them fourth on the ladder.
Mitchell Moses was also back training with the main group in Gosford on Saturday as he continues to recover from a hamstring tear, and Mitch Barnett said Moses was “very confident” he would play. For NSW, the immediate story is simpler than the wider squad picture: McLean is out, Nawaqanitawase gets his first taste of Origin, and game two now carries the weight of a lineup change made under the pressure of a Saturday morning setback.
