Blues says rookies have no sign of nerves

NSW assistant coach Matt Parish says the State of Origin side's four rookies appear calm ahead of their debuts against Queensland on Wednesday night.

Matt Parish

NSW assistant coach Matt Parish says the State of Origin side's four rookies appear calm. (AAP)

NSW's four rookies are showing no signs of excess State of Origin jitters ahead of Wednesday night's series-opener, say coaching staff.

Fullback Matt Moylan, halfback Adam Reynolds, winger Josh Mansour and bench utility Dylan Walker are all set to make their Origin debuts and can expect to be targeted by Queensland at ANZ Stadium.

But assistant coach Matt Parish said there were no signs of any onset of extreme pre-match nerves.

"They're pretty relaxed," Parish said.

"You've got to remember some of those guys have played Test matches for Australia, have played grand finals and all that.

"So they have played big games, obviously it's not the same as Origin, but our preparation has been good and we're pretty confident.

Both Walker and Mansour have each played 73 NRL matches and four Tests for Australia, while Reynolds helped steer South Sydney to their drought-breaking premiership success in 2014.

Moylan is the least experienced of the group, with 57 NRL games and two matches for City Origin.

Meanwhile, Queensland's two rookies - Corey Oates and Justin O'Neill - each played in last year's grand final, with O'Neill also having won a premiership with Melbourne in 2012.


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Source: AAP



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