Live: State of Origin series on the line in Perth

Tonight marks the third time State of Origin has gone west, and both previous times it’s yielded big wins for New South Wales.

The first trip to WA was in 2019 for the Navy Blue Game. It was one of those Tom Trbojevic games where he looks just about unstoppable, scoring three of the Blues’ six tries as they won 38-6 in a game two that served as the launching pad for their second straight series win.

They returned for game two in 2022 and this time it was the Nathan Cleary show as he scored two tries, assisted on two others and kicked eight goals in a 24-point performance as NSW ran in 30 unanswered second-half points to win 44-12.

The last thing that Queensland needed heading into this must win Game Two was any unnecessary distractions.

So when Billy Slater invoked the name of Paul Green in a Tuesday press conference, forcing him to apologise today, it was something the team could very much do without.

“Yesterday I wrongly made the link between Paul Green’s death and the stress and pressures of coaching, which wasn’t accurate and nor was it appropriate,” Slater said today.

“I feel terrible about what I said and I spoke to [Green’s wife] Amanda Green this morning and apologised for any hurt it may have caused her or her family.

“I just want to say this, Paul had CTE [chronic traumatic encephalopathy]. That is a different disease to what I was referring to.

“I am deeply and genuinely sorry.”

You can read more about the whole sorry story right here.

Hello folks and welcome to the ABC Sport coverage of State of Origin game two!

My name is Simon Smale and I will be your point man this evening, leading our cast of experts lending their eyes and ears to the coverage over there in Perth.

Jon Healy is on the ground at Perth Stadium for all the reaction, while Mick Doyle and Nick Campton are all part of our digital team.

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