Blues hand bullocking Rooster Origin debut as Maroons keep cards close

Topic:State of Origin

Rima Butler is one of nine Roosters in the NSW squad. (Getty Images: Cameron Spencer)

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Rima Butler is set for her State of Origin debut after Tiana Penitani Gray's knee injury forced New South Wales to reshuffle its forward pack for game two.

The Sydney Roosters prop will join John Strange's bench as the Blues look to clinch the three-match series with victory in Brisbane next Thursday night.

It comes as Queensland resist making unforced changes with the series on the line, but Jasmine Peters will join the squad in place of injured winger Phoenix-Raine Hippi.

Penitani Gray played the whole 70 minutes of NSW's 11-6 game one win in the unfamiliar second row position, but has pulled up sore and dropped out of the team.

In her place, veteran Kezie Apps comes off the bench to start on an edge, having done so in 11 previous Origin clashes.

A premiership winner with Newcastle in 2023, 28-year-old Butler had been part of the extended squad for Origin I and will wear jersey number 16 on debut.

Queensland winger Hippi has been sidelined from Origin II with a hamstring injury, with Peters or Shenae Ciesiolka the leading contenders to replace her in the starting line-up.

Destiny Mino-Sinapati, the only uncapped player in Queensland's 20-player squad, is another option.

Maroons duo Makenzie Weale and Keilee Joseph suffered game-ending head knocks in the series opener, but remain in the frame given a two-week turnaround between fixtures.

First-year coach Nathan Cross has included the duo in his squad, but uncertainty about their recoveries has meant he opted against naming a game-day team.

A loss in Brisbane would mean the Maroons losing the series inside two games for a second consecutive year, but Cross remains optimistic.

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"The effort areas, the physicality, and the way the group connected under pressure were all strong.

"This squad has worked hard for each other right through the pre-series period, and there's a real belief in what we're building together."

Some players entered the series opener having not played a competitive match since the NRLW season concluded with the grand final in early October.

Queensland squad: Destiny Brill, Lauren Brown, Shenae Ciesiolka, Brianna Clark, Jess Elliston, Jada Ferguson, Keilee Joseph, Chantay Kiria-Ratu, Chelsea Lenarduzzi, Sienna Lofipo, Ivana Lolesio, Emma Manzelmann, Destiny Mino-Sinapati, Rory Owen, Jasmine Peters, Otesa Pule, Julia Robinson, Romy Teitzel, Tamika Upton, Makenzie Weale.

NSW team: 1. Abbi Church, 2. Jaime Chapman, 3. Jess Sergis, 4. Isabelle Kelly, 5. Jayme Fressard, 6. Jocelyn Kelleher, 7. Jesse Southwell, 8. Millie Elliott, 9. Keeley Nizza, 10. Ellie Johnston, 11. Kezie Apps, 12. Yasmin Meakes, 13. Olivia Kernick, 14. Olivia Higgins, 15. Kennedy Cherrington, 16. Rima Butler, 17. Teagan Berry, 18. Corban Baxter, 19. Quincy Dodd, 20. Hannah Southwell.