{"id":674689,"date":"2026-05-16T12:40:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T12:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/674689\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T12:40:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T12:40:10","slug":"nrl-2026-origin-watch-nsw-blues-vs-qld-maroons-selections-wayde-egan-kurt-capewell-briton-nikora-jackson-ford","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/674689\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL 2026: Origin Watch, NSW Blues vs QLD Maroons, selections, Wayde Egan, Kurt Capewell, Briton Nikora, Jackson Ford"},"content":{"rendered":"

A number of Warriors players were told to pack extra clothes for Magic Round on the chance they may get the call-up for the State of Origin opener. <\/p>\n

The Daily Telegraph<\/a> reported NSW Origin contenders Mitchell Barnett, Jackson Ford and Wayde Egan were informed by NSWRL officials before flying to Brisbane to pack extra luggage.<\/p>\n

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Meanwhile, Queensland hopeful Kurt Capewell was also told to pack extra luggage. <\/p>\n

Barnett and Ford are a good chance to make the Blues forward pack rotation, while Egan is considered a back-up if Reece Robson and Blayke Brailey go down, but based on his stunning form he could be a massive Blues bolter. <\/p>\n

Capewell is an incumbent second-rower and looks set to be included in the squad somewhere after injuries to contenders David Fifita and Jeremiah Nanai. <\/p>\n

Turning 33 in July, Capewell has been in strong form for the second placed Warriors and given his versatility looks set to earn a spot in Billy Slater\u2019s team. <\/p>\n

Interestingly Tanah Boyd was snubbed by Queensland officials after not being told to pack extra gear, despite the loss of Tom Dearden for the series to an ankle injury. <\/p>\n

MORE NRL NEWS<\/p>\n

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ORIGIN DAILY: \u2018Shocked\u2019 – Ciraldo defends Bulldogs skipper over Blues snub claims<\/a><\/p>\n

Wayde Egan is a bolter for the Blues at hooker.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n

KIWIS STAR SET TO MAKE HISTORY WITH MAROONS DEBUT <\/p>\n

The new Origin eligibility laws are set to see New Zealand veteran Briton Nikora earn a Queensland debut when the team is read out on Monday. <\/p>\n

The Courier Mail<\/a> reported Nikora is on the verge of being called up to Slater\u2019s squad for State of Origin I, as he looks to profit from the eligibility shake-up. <\/p>\n

Sharks teammate Addin Fonua-Blake is firming for a role with the NSW Blues, but Nikora looks set to earn a place in the Maroons side opposite his club mate. <\/p>\n

Briton NikoraSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n

Nikora has been in hot form this season, while Maroons contenders Jeremiah Nanai and David Fifita are out injured. <\/p>\n

The 28-year-old has played 16 Tests for the Kiwis, but is now also eligible for Queensland after moving to the state with his family at age 10.<\/p>\n

Slater is reportedly a huge fan of Nikora and his ability as a hole runner on the edge. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A number of Warriors players were told to pack extra clothes for Magic Round on the chance they…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":674690,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[115333,63,689,325245,651,325371,17343,4509,246158,325372,1208,2057,763,2485,43,325374,779,4487,325370,1136,174147,1736,2613,44,3583,677,242363,325373,701,11739,13391,179934,4477,776,15899,41,39,42,40,325369,325368,4461],"class_list":["post-674689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-arl-commission","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-availability-clouds","tag-brisbane","tag-club-mate","tag-daily-telegraph","tag-david-fifita","tag-eligibility-laws","tag-eligibility-shake-up","tag-england","tag-europe","tag-fox-league","tag-gold-coast","tag-headlines","tag-hole-runner","tag-kristian-woolf","tag-kurt-capewell","tag-league-nursery","tag-looks-set","tag-mitchell-barnett","tag-new-zealand","tag-new-zealand-warriors","tag-news","tag-northern-europe","tag-oceania","tag-origin-stars","tag-origin-watch","tag-queensland","tag-reece-robson","tag-reece-walsh","tag-sharks-teammate","tag-tanah-boyd","tag-tom-dearden","tag-tom-gilbert","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-versatility-looks-set","tag-warriors-bolters","tag-wayde-egan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=674689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674689\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/674690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=674689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=674689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=674689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}