The NRL has announced that the Under-19 State of Origin Games for both men and women will be held on Thursday, June 23 at Leichhardt Oval.
Each team will be allowed to include two ‘marquee’ players in addition to the rest of their squad, which will consist of non-NRL contracted players.
This means that Queensland can choose between Sam Walker or Reese Walls, where Joseph Swallow and Will Penicini may be suitable for the blues.
“It’s a chance to see the best and brightest prospects in the game,” said ARLC boss Peter V’Landis.
“Why don’t we take the opportunity to showcase the talent of these amazing young players?
“It will be one of the many new initiatives that will promote the next generation of players to the fans.”
The games will be held in Canberra on Friday night, the day before the only women’s State of Origin match, New Zealand will play Tonga in Auckland on Saturday, and Samoa will face Cook Islands in double headers at Campbelltown Stadium and Fiji in Papua New Guinea. .
The two matches of the men’s State of Origin series will be played on Sunday night.
“It’s an exciting opportunity for fans to see the players who have come through this new Pathway event and highlight where they’ve come from to reach this level,” said NRL CEO Andrew Abdo.