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Sport Nation
FWC on Sport Nation guideWill Staggs be selected for Game III?
Nicholas Quinlan • June 19th, 2026 5:31 pm
Following their 44-24 defeat to the Maroons at the MCG on Wednesday, Robert Craddock believes Laurie Daley could overhaul his side once again, with Kotoni Staggs being at the centre of those changes for the Blues.
The Broncos’ centre scored his first try for New South Wales on Wednesday, courtesy of a Tom Flegler drop which saw them take the lead.
But later in the game, Staggs was sin-binned for a high hit on Kalyn Ponga in the 63rd minute, which the Maroons used to kill off any hopes of an NSW comeback.
And with Latrell Mitchell and Stephen Crichton both coming back from injury and in the mix for Game III, Craddock thinks the 27-year-old could be the first of many to be axed.
“There could be a lot of them,” he explained on SENQ Breakfast.
“The first guy will be Brisbane's own Kotoni Staggs.
“In his house, he's got three jerseys framed. He's got his first State of Origin jersey, his first club jersey for the Broncos and his Australian jersey up above the bar.
“But I would not be surprised if he never played again. He was just clunky and he snatched at it.
“There's Latrell Mitchell, Stephen Crichton, he's the main one.”
Craddock also noted the performance of Payne Haas.
After missing Game I, the Broncos prop only played 54 minutes, which saw him run for 69 metres, leaving him to wonder why Haas wasn’t able to make an impact as he does for Brisbane.
“It staggered me that Payne Haas could run only 69 metres the other night,” Craddock added.
“I heard Shane Webcke say, occasionally there's just a different Payne Haas plays for New South Wales and plays for the Broncos, where you just pencil him in for 160 metres every week, don't you with the Broncos?
“I know he had time off the field, but something wasn't right there, and it's been essentially ignored over the last day or so, but where was Payne Haas in that game?”
The Game III decider takes place at Suncorp Stadium on July 8.
SEN will have live coverage of the match with three different calls available with biased Blues and Maroons radio alongside a neutral Origin Live call.
