State of Origin 2019 Game 2: Queensland 6-6 NSW – live!

30 mins: A break for NSW as Oates is bundled over the line. He tried to change direction but slipped as he locked his feet in.

28 mins: Ferguson puts down a high ball near his own line and the Maroons have a chance. The rain taking its toll. It just slipped right through his hands.

27 mins: It’s absolutely hurling it down out there. Bit of wind too. Mistakes ahoy. The Blues are close to the Maroons’ line again too. QLD have a scrum though.

25 mins: And NSW are back in front by six.

Good work from Maloney. The Blues push and probe, it ends up with Frizell who barges his way through the final few metres to score. Blues back in front.

23 mins: Penalty to the Blues, and they have another great chance to attack the line.

21 mins: Good work by Cleary gives the Blues a chance from 20m. The line is teasingly close. Graham tries to find a way through, twice, but the Maroons stand firm and the final kick gifts them possession.

19 mins: Dead in front and right through the middle. All square again.

16 mins: Good defence from the Blues is undone when Jack Wighton blocks the man chasing the ball (Will Chambers) from a grubber over the try line. And that’s that. Maroons get a gift.

14 mins: A tackle in the air gives Qld some room to breathe. They’re starting to inch their way up the ground. DCE is leading the charge, trying to find a way back for his side. Maroons having a bit of a spell.

12 mins: All the pressure on the Maroons at the minute, trying to break out of their own half. Even DCE looks like he’s struggling for options. Blues with their tails up.

No mistake from the boot and a new-look NSW are on top.

8 mins: Trbojevic outjumps Ponga to a high ball and gets it down over the line. Great catch, great kick and NSW have first blood.

8 mins: Chambers almost gets on the end of a ball over the line but he was always unlikely to get on top of it and get it down. Still, better from the Maroons, and all from that forward pass by NSW. Still, the Blues are bouncing back now. Probing forward.

7 mins: A poor forward throw eases some of the pressure on Queensland. The Maroons will take that. It’s not been a classic so far. Think the weather/conditions is taking a toll.

5 mins: Addo-Carr makes up some metres down the left edge. Wighton follows suit and then the Blues spread it all the way down to the right and Tom Trbojevic gets over the line but is well held up. Good stuff from NSW.

4 mins: No Origin magic so far, although the Blues get a knock-on. Looks a bit slippy out there. We could see more errors than usual tonight.

2 mins: The Blues make it all the way up to the 20m line and then keep Qld at bay on the return set. Saifiti trying to make some ground on his debut. He looks up for it.

1 min: Queensland with the kick and, with an almighty roar, and a few pyrotechnics, we’re away.

Acknowledgment and anthem. Here we go. The anthem reaches a crescendo and the players get into position. We’re almost there.

NSW are out on the pitch. Maroons just about to follow – they don’t seem to be in any sort of rush. Bit of mind games maybe? The fans in Perth are up for this.

Not long to go. Just enough time to read up Matt Cleary’s preview of the match.

Fittler made seven changes and pundits and punters alike have been in a flap. People don’t understand why there are fullbacks in the centres, the halfback is not the dominant “quarterback”, and Latrell Mitchell is in Taree

Moses Mbye. Forget Sam Burgess’ broken eye socket, or Cooper Cronk’s fractured scapula – Mbye had what was described as a life-threatening anaphylactic shock after breakfast a couple of days ago, but will still play for the Maroons today. Still no news on what might have caused the severe allergic reaction, but I bet he eyed his Coco Pops with a degree of suspicion this morning.

“I’m not quite sure what it was that triggered it. I had a handful of things that morning. I had some brekky and juice, it was a standard sort of day and it was nothing out of the ordinary.” Moses Mbye

Blues Mk II. Anyway, back on topic. Say what you want about Fittler’s decision to overhaul the squad – and most of us have – but he’s clearly not afraid to back his own judgement. Put bluntly, he’s wearing this one – whatever the result. If they win, he’ll be hailed as a genius, but if they lose… eesh. And if this all sounds slightly familiar it’s possibly because people were saying the same thing about Kevin Walters before Game 1. Stories of coach whisperers and bans on speaking about NSW all came with a subtle hint of “this guy is desperate”. And look how that turned out.

The Tonga test. Talking of raining on parades, Tonga’s highs of 2017 seemed a long time ago last night in arguably the weekend’s biggest non-Origin footy game (in this hemisphere at least). The Mate Ma’a made the scoreline semi-respectable towards the end but were outclassed by the clinical Kiwis in a 34-14 defeat.

“They controlled the ruck a lot better than us, particularly with one referee, and we let a few tries through there and that was disappointing,” coach Kristian Woolf said. “Those three tries from dummy half were the most disappointing thing for me. Brandon Smith is a very good player and he showed how strong he is.”

The weather. Amid all the many talking points since Game 1, the weather in Perth has gone a little under the radar, so to speak. Yesterday the city centre was drenched with 60mm of rain. It’s not as bad today but the threat of showers has hung in the air all day. On a hard Optus Stadium surface with short grass, all that rain could have a huge bearing on the game. Expect the ball to skim along the surface.

“We’ve prepared for that and I’m sure Queensland would have as well. The forecast, everyone tells me the forecast is right over here in WA so we’re expecting rain,” Danny Buderus said.

Kick-off. Apparently we’re still down for a 7.50pm (AEST) start although I always take that with a pinch of salt.

Is that Eskimo Joe rocking up in the rafters? If only it was Brad Fittler – then I could do my Fittler on the roof pun. Apologies.

The teams. A familiar Queensland side looks as imposing as ever, even without Jai Arrow, but it’s all change once again for the Blues under Freddy. Is it a better NSW side than Game 1 or have all those changes undermined team structure? Is it possible both those statements might be true? Rumours that Dale Finucane might get the nod to start at lock have been confirmed.

NSW: James Tedesco, Blake Ferguson, Tom Trbojevic, Jack Wighton, Josh Addo-Carr, James Maloney, Nathan Cleary, Daniel Saifiti, Damien Cook, Jake Trbojevic, Boyd Cordner (capt), Tyson Frizell, Dale Finucane. Res: Paul Vaughan, Tariq Sims, Cameron Murray, Wade Graham.

Queensland: Kalyn Ponga, Corey Oates, Michael Morgan, Will Chambers, Dane Gagai, Cameron Munster, Daly Cherry-Evans (capt), Dylan Napa, Ben Hunt, Josh Papalii, Felise Kaufusi, Matt Gillett, Josh McGuire. Res: Moses Mbye, Jarrod Wallace, Tim Glasby, David Fifita.