There’s no shortage of fresh faces as the State of Origin reignites in Sydney for Game One of the 2022 series on Wednesday night.

Seven debutants will be on show for the Maroons, with Jeremiah Nanai, Reuben Cotter, Selwyn Cobbo and Patrick Carrigan all getting their first taste of Origin footy for Queensland.

The new names aren’t confined to on-field, with Queensland legend Billy Slater also launching his coaching career.

Slater will no doubt instill a resilience and toughness, which gives the impression the Maroons will be in the contest for the full 80 minutes.

And when the pressure comes on, it’s hard to see Slater getting it wrong when it comes to moving around personnel and tactics.

But after winning three of the past four series, New South Wales will start as warm favourites to win game one and take a giant step to clinching another series.

The Blues will have to do it without superstar centres Latrell Mitchell and Tom Trbojevic, both ruled out through injury.

Blues coach Brad Fittler has handed debuts to Kotoni Staggs, Ryan Matterson and Stephen Crichton, while much of the attention has centred on Josh Addo-Carr being left out.

It’s a tough call, but Fittler knows what it takes to win, having triumphed in three of four series and steering NSW to a new era of success for the Blues after more than a decade of Queensland dominance.

One of the keys will be how Staggs partners with Canberra’s Jack Wighton in a new-look centre pairing.

Nathan Cleary facing up to Daly Cherry-Evans will also be a key match-up and much will hinge on how the former links with his Penrith teammates in attack.

The Blues also have home ground advantage, and while in the past five series there have been just four games at Accor Stadium, NSW have won three of those encounters.

There’s plenty to like about the Blues, but it’s hard to imagine a Slater-led Maroons will be too far out of the contest. These two sides are very evenly-matched and the Queensland outfit looks very solid on paper. At the price, it’s worth betting on a Maroons victory.

Suggested bets: 1.5u Maroons wins at $2.35 & 0.5u first try scorer Valentine Holmes at $16