Everything these teams have been working on and playing for comes down to this Sydney Football Stadium showdown, a spot in the October 1 Grand Final up for grabs.

Match Odds: Manly $1.40 v $3 Brisbane at Luxbet

Manly have the home crowd advantage and are fresh off a week’s break after earning a green pass straight through to this after their big 42 – 8 annihilation of the Cowboys back in the opening finals.

Brisbane, however, are not only away from the sell-out crowds at Lang Park that they have been blessed to have played in front of for their past four, but are also without their inspirational skipper.

Darren Lockyer made the announcement yesterday that his final every NRL game, the champion retiring at the end of the season, may actually already be behind him after a horrific cheek injury he sustained in last Saturday night’s nail-biting 13 – 12 golden point win over the St George Illawrra Dragons would rule him out of playing this week.

For obvious reasons then, the Sea Eagles are the short-priced $1.30 favourites at Luxbet to win on Friday night.

Brisbane have blown out in the NRL odds to a quote of $3 since the news Locky won’t be there to guide they boys through what is sure to be a gripping game between two of League’s best.

The Broncos do get captain in waiting and this week’s stand in skipper Sam Thaiday back after he served a two-week suspension, however, and Matt Gillett has been called in to replace Locky in the now iconic No. 6 Brisbane jersey.

Match Stat: Manly haven’t lost a Grand Final Qualifier since 1975!

While Manly are the deserved favourites based on the above, Brisbane go in with no pressure now.

No one expects them to win and perhaps this will work in their favour, as they are the kind of team with the depth of talent that you don’t want to face with a complacent attitude.

The Sea Eagles are not full strength either, Glenn Stuart not being there likely to have more of an impact on their halves ability to shine than many think.

Statistics usually don’t lie and the statistics say Brisbane will lose this.

Their win rate with Locky on side is an impressive 66.8 per cent, without him in the line-up this drops to a dismal 28.6 percent.

There is also one that Manly fans will savour, the Sea Eagles not having lost a grand final qualifier since 1975.

That said, football isn’t played on paper it’s played on the field when guts and determination go further than any historical data will take a team and the Broncos really do want this more after Locky said he would right to play in the Grand Final should his team get there without his help.

Match Tip: First Tryscorer Daly-Cherry Evans at a juicy $17 through Luxbet!

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NRL Finals Week 3 – Game 1 Details

• Fixture: Manly Sea Eagles v Brisbane Broncos
• Date: Friday September 23, 2011
• Venue: Sydney Football Stadium
• Time: 7:45pm (local)
• Odds: Manly $1.40 – Brisbane $3 – Bet now at Luxbet

Finals Week 3 Team Lists Game 1

Sea Eagles: Brett Stewart, Michael Robertson, Jamie Lyon (c), Steve Matai, Will Hopoate, Kieran Foran, Daly Cherry-Evans, Joe Galuvao, Matt Ballin, Brent Kite, Anthony Watmough, Tony Williams, Shane Rodney. Interchange (from): Tim Robinson, Jamie Buhrer, Vic Mauro, George Rose, Terence Seuseu

Broncos: Gerard Beale, Dale Copley, Jack Reed, Justin Hodges, Jharal Yow Yew, TBC, Peter Wallace, Josh McGuire, Andrew McCullough, Ben Hannant, Alex Glenn, Sam Thaiday, Corey Parker. Interchange (from): Matt Gillett, Ben Hunt, Scott Anderson, Ben Te’o, David Hala

New Zealand are the $7 NRL Grand Final outsiders at Luxbet but plenty suggests they shouldn’t be discounted just yet!

The premiership dream has come to an end for the two NRL Week 2 losers with the ever-entertaining Wests Tigers and the defending champions, St George Illawarra Dragons, both knocked out of the competition.

This means that after over 160 minutes of the hardest-hitting footy of the year, the New Zealand Warriors and the Brisbane Broncos came out on top in the NRL week two finals results and are through to the next round.

Here’s what went down so you can see how your NRL finals bets went at Luxbet!

NRL SEMI FINALS 2011 – WEEK 2 RESLUTS

Semi Final 1 Result: Wests Tigers 20 – 22 New Zealand Warriors

• What’s Next: After fighting back in a sudden-death thriller, the New Zealand Warriors’ determination saw them score a match-winning try in the final two minutes of last Friday night’s match, pushing them into week three of the NRL finals. They will now take on the minor premiers, Melbourne Storm, down at AAMI Park on Saturday night (September 24), a team they have a surprisingly good record against.

• What are the Odds: Melbourne are the $1.40 Luxbet favourites to knock New Zealand out this week, but history shows that the Kiwis have claims and there will be plenty taking the juicy $2.95 odds on an upset Week 3 NRL finals result here.

• NRL Grand Final Odds: The Warriors are the outsiders of the four teams left in the competition, Luxbet paying $7 to win the Grand Final on October 2. Melbourne are the $2.75 co-favourites in the NRL futures odds for the Grand Final with Manly.

Semi Final 2 Result: Brisbane Broncos 13 – 12 St George Illawarra Dragons

• What’s Next: This was the game of the season so far, a high-class clash between two of the best in the business. After getting a tight early lead, the Broncos found it hard to really push open that gap as the Dragons’ defence was more than commendable. St George kept coming and scored a match equaliser in the final few minutes to push this blockbuster into golden point. And in traditional Broncos style, the fairytale continued with an injured Darren Lockyer battling through a smashed cheek to kick the drop goal and put Brisbane into the preliminaries. No back-to-back premiership wins for the Dragons folks. Now it is up to the Broncos, Lockie or no Lockie, to travel down to Sydney and take on the Manly Sea Eagles on Friday night at the SFS.

• What are the Odds: Fresh off a week’s rest and at home Manly are the $1.55 Luxbet favourites to put an end to Brisbane’s dream run and move through to the Grand Final. But with the movie script swangsong season continuing to play out for the Broncos’ skipper and his crew, the $2.45 NRL odds on the boys from the sunshine state are very tempting. And, if you fancy Brisbane to go all the way and score their first premiership win since 2006, Luxbet are paying $4.25 on them in their Grand Final betting markets.

Whether you fancy the Sydney clubs to show the visitor’s what’s what or you are looking at those juicy outsider odds, Luxbet are the online bookmaker for all your NRL finals needs this September.

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As the two lowest-ranked losers from the opening NRL Finals week matches, the New Zealand Warriors and the North Queensland Cowboys have bowed out of the premiership race for this season.

Both teams were thrashed by two of the in-form sides in the competition, the Warriors going down 40 – 10 to the Brisbane Broncos in front of a capacity crowd of Brisbanites at Suncorp Stadium followed by a 42 – 8 fight back from the Manly Sea Eagles that left the Cowboys out of contention on Saturday night.

As the two highest-ranked winners from the NRL Week 1 Finals, the Manly Sea Eagles and the Melbourne Storm, who beat a fast-finishing Newcastle Knights 18 – 8 at AAMI Park on a supercharged Sunday arvo clash, have a rest this weekend before fighting it out for a spot in the NRL Grand Final 2011 the following week.

That means this weekend for the NRL Week 2 finals the Wests Tigers, who beat the reigning premiers St George Illawarra Dragons last Friday night 21 – 12, will take on the New Zealand Warriors while the Brisbane Broncos face their former coach Bennet and his Red and White army at the official final ever Darren Lockyer NRL home game.

Only two will move through the next round to face the benchmark teams in the competition and keep their NRL Premiership dreams alive.

NRL Finals Qualifiers – Week 1 Results

NRL Finals Week 1 – Game 1 Result

Wests Tigers 21 – 12 St George Illawarra Dragons

• What It Means: Both move through to next week, Tigers to play Warriors and Dragons to face Brisbane

NRL Finals Week 1 – Game 2 Result

Brisbane Broncos 40 – 10 New Zealand Warriors

• What It Means: Both move through to next week, Brisbane have home ground advantage over Dragons while Warriors travel to Sydney to face the Tigers

NRL Finals Week 1 – Game 3 Result

Manly Sea Eagles 42 – 8 North Queensland Cowboys

• What It Means: Cowboys are out of the competition while Manly enjoy a week’s rest before playing the second highest-ranked winner from the second round of finals the following weekend

NRL Finals Week 2 – Game 3 Result

Melbourne Storm 18 – 8 Newcastle Knights

• What It Means: Newcastle are out of the premiership race, Melbourne rest this weekend before taking on the highest-ranked winner out of the two second round finals week winners at AAMI Park the next weekend

Every NRL Finals winning team from week one were the favourites in the NRL betting markets at Luxbet, meaning punters that followed the form and the NRL odds came up trumps.

Will there be upsets in the NRL Week 2 Finals? Stay tuned to NRLleague.com.au for the NRL Semi Finals match and betting previews.

In the meantime, get ready for the action by signing up with Australia’s favourite online bookmaker Luxbet.

You can bet on the NRL Finals right now at Luxbet, Tigers and Brisbane the clear favourites to win their respective matches.

For even more value NRL futures betting is also open at Luxbet on the Grand Final Winner with Melbourne the narrow $3.25 favourites to take out the premiership for 2011, followed in the NRL odds by Manly at $3.85.

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It is a blockbuster battle between two of the real-deal 2011 Premiership contenders, the 30^th time they play each other, and possibly a milestone match for Melbourne who are vying for their eighth consecutive NRL win.

With seven straight wins, the Storm are enjoying their best roll since the lead-up to their 2007 Grand Final win (since stripped), and tonight’s home game is expected to be played out in front of a 30,000 plus crowd.

In the NRL match odds at Luxbet, the in-form Storm are unsurprisingly the favourites paying a still backable $1.50 to secure their spot at the top of the ladder.

Darren Lockyer and the rest of the Brissie boys are paying $2.65 to claim an upset NRL result, the Broncos well-positioned to give Locky a career-last NRL finals bid currently sitting fourth on the ladder.

Tonight will also be Lockyer’s final NRL game in Melbourne, the end-of-career events continuing to arise the closer to retirement the great man gets.

With retirement rolling closer along with the September semis, Storm player Cooper Cronk is not expecting an easy win especially with Locky in the mix.

“Don’t count out the Brisbane Broncos with Darren Lockyer,” Cronk, who played alongside the instrumental Maroon No. 7 for Queensland’s sixth straight Origin win this year.

“The emotion surrounding him and his last season can be something that can get a team over the line.

“For me now, it’s more about being really consistent no matter who you play.

“I know it’s a big game for the club in terms of first versus four, it’s Friday night football in Melbourne and we’ve got the new jerseys.

“In reality it’s just another stepping stone to what is hopefully going to be a big back-end of the eyar for us.

“They’re a good team in good form, so it’s going to be a good test for us.”

With both NRL teams back to full strength after the State of Origin period, it is only the Storm’s recent purple patch and home ground advantage separating them from Brisbane in the NRL betting markets.

Punters with Top 4 bets on at Luxbet will also be sweating on this one, especially if their money’s on Brisbane.

The Broncos come off a big 20-point victory over the Wooden Spoon-favoured Titans from last week’s Rivalry Round, while the Storm easily accounted for the Raiders 26 – 0 in Round 19.

If the Storm loose in an upset tonight, the Manly Sea Eagles get a chance to reclaim their spot at the top if they defeat the Panthers on Sunday arvo.

A loss for Brisbane and they could drop to fifth on the ladder if the Thurston-less Cowboys bounce back from their nasty 38 – 18 loss to the Tigers last week and finish ahead of the Gold Coast on the scoreboard at Skilled Park on Saturday arvo.

“Once you get past the rep season, you can see the finish line and all those still in contention are trying to find another gear to jostle for spots,” Brisbane coach Anthony Griffin said.

Melbourne are only likely to improve from their clinical performance last week, as long as they don’t crumble under the mounting pressure, with hooker Cameron Smith and prop Bryan Norrie both named in the starting line-up after starting off the bench last week.

Griffin is well-aware of the danger Smith presents in the ruck, something he has warned his players to keep on top of tonight.

“He’s probably the best hooker in the competition,” Griffin said.

“He’s their captain, he handles the ball more than any other player and he’s the most influential player in the comp at least for this week, as far as we’re concerned.”

Brisbane have managed to maul Melbourne down there before, easily defeating them 36-14 last year, but Griffin isn’t relying on that stat to get them through.

“When we played them down there last time, in fairness to them, they were out of the competition,” he said.

“They didn’t have Cameron Smith either, so there were a few variables there.”

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There is a lot on the line this weekend, with a huge points-buffer currently separating the leading five teams from the rest of the competition.

Melbourne Storm are at the top of the table on 30 points having scored 13 victories so far this season, their position unlikely to be tested as they play a disappointing Raiders outfit this round on Sunday arvo in Canberra.

The Sea Eagles are the surprise second-ranked team at the moment, Manly continuing to produce barnstorming performances on the field winning a dozen NRL matches to all but secure their line-up in the September semis.

NRL Premiership Winner Futures Odds at Luxbet have Manly and Melbourne as the $4.50 equal favourites, with the reigning Premiers St George Illawarra leading the betting at $3.40 to score back-to-back NRL Grand Final wins on the first Sunday of October.

The Dragons are third on the ladder with 27 points, just one off the Sea Eagles’ 27, but get their chance to move up this coming Monday as they play the Sharks (10^th on the ladder but coming off four-straight wins) at WIN Jubilee Oval.

Queensland clubs the Cowboys and the Broncos sit fourth and fifth equal on 26 points, giving the footy fans and punters up in the sunshine state a real shot at a Premiership win this year.

Brisbane are considered the leading chance, paying $7 at Luxbet to become the 2011 NRL Premiership winners and give retiring skipper Darren Lockyer a fairytale farewell from footy.

After these teams, there’s a sharp drop in points before the sixth-ranked Warriors and seventh-sitting Knights who have racked up 20 points with eight wins a-piece.

Newcastle are one of the short-priced favourites to snare one of the three final spots in the Top 8 odds at Luxbet, paying $1.60.

They have a seemingly sweet run to see out the end of the regular season with the majority of their games to be played at home, but first must defeat the on-fire Sea Eagles in a must-watch clash at Ausgrid on Sunday.

With four clubs just two points away from the Warriors and Knights on the Ladder, the pointy-end of the NRL season is shaping up as a real arm-wrestle.

Round 19 kicks off tonight with a local Derby at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane hosting the Wooden Spoon favoured Gold Coast Titans who have been the flop of the season.

It is the other Friday night footy game, however, that is the more important in regards to the looming finals.

Over at Mt Smart Stadium the Bulldogs will take on the Warriors, a must win for Canterbury who sit 11^th on the ladder being one of the teams that can sneak into the Top 8 by the end of the round.

It is also important for New Zealand to salute for the home crowd here if they are to maintain their spot in sixth, plenty of other NRL results from this week able to knock them out of the top eight.

The Warriors are the deserved $1.51 favourites here at Luxbet, the Michael Ennis-less Bulldogs facing plenty of troubles including yesterday’s sacking of their coach Kevin Moore.

Other NRL Round 19 games that could prove do-or-die for the premiership hopefuls include the all Sydney-clash between the Rabbitohs and Roosters at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night and the Penrith v Eels showdown at Centrebet also on Saturday.

While last year’s NRL Grand Final runners-up, the Roosters, look to have little chance of an eleventh-hours finals bid, the world of Rugby League has shown time and time again that anything is possible.

The Eels too are desperate for a win over the eighth-ranked Panthers, not only to get the two points and move one step closer to the finals but also to celebrate captain Nathan Hindmarsh’s milestone 300^th match in the Blue and Gold jersey.

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In front of a record-breaking 52,498 sea of Maroon fans that packed Suncorp Stadium to the rafters, the champion Queensland crew gave their instrumental skipper Darren Lockyer the farewell from Origin that the most-capped Origin player in history so much deserved with their authoritative six-tries-to-four win.

Donning the Maroon jersey for the 36^th and final time on Wednesday night, Lockyer can bow out from representative football with his famous bald head held high thanks to an all-in effort from the superlative Queensland team.

It was the first time in 20 years that the Maroons sealed a series win in a decider at Lang Park, making for an even more memorable chapter in the Origin history books.

While Locky himself didn’t get a final Origin four-pointer to ice the cake, there was still plenty to celebrate both on the field and back in the dressing rooms with household names old and new scoring for Queensland including Greg Inglis, Sammy Thaiday, Cameron Smith, Jharal Yow Yeh and Billy Slater.

It was an embarrassing start for the Blues in Origin game three, who after much hype from their bullish captain Ricky Stuart looked flat and out-played allowing Queensland to cruise to a commanding 24 to nil lead with four unanswered tries in the opening 35 minutes.

First over was Greg Inglis in the 16^th minute who capitalised on a masterful Johnathan Thurston kick followed by an easy four-pointer by a charging Sam Thaiday thanks to a deft pass from Slater, both converted by JT.

Greg Inglis was at double figure odds at Luxbet in the Origin first try-scorer markets, making the first four-pointer of the game real winner for punters!

Two more before the Blues had even opened their account had the Queenslanders cheering their hearts out.

The legendary Cameron Smith, tipped to take over captaincy from Locky and later named both man of the match and man of the series, getting over in the 31^st minute from dummy-half.

Then Broncos flyer Jharal Yow Yeh crossed again just two minutes later after a Lockyer kick bounced off Blues fullback Minichiello’s legs and right into his arms giving the young gun his second try in the Origin arena.

Another two successful conversion attempts by JT and the Blues were staring down the barrel of a 24 to nil deficit.

With Queensland having dominated in both attack and defence, in the last five minutes of the first half they dropped their game just enough for New South to sneak in with two fast tries to give the Blues supporters a glimmer of hope before the break.

First over was fullback and Rooster’s veteran Anthony Minichiello in the 37^th minute atoning for his earlier stuff-up by cleaning up a messy play after a horror kick from Soward went through four fumbling sets of Maroon hands before Luke Lewis clung on and passed to Minnie.

The Blues second came from Newcastle winger Akuila Uate who crossed right on the siren for his debut Origin try.

Jamie Soward, who seemed to be struggling with his ongoing hamstring injuries, converted the first but missed the second and Queensland headed to the sheds leading 24 – 10.

The second 40 minutes of the match began on a more even playing field.

Queensland’s brilliant fullback Billy Slater, who seemingly had a magnet on his chest having caught nearly every kick Soward sent his way, broke the arm-wrestle in the 65^th minute after a time-honoured play from Lockyer and Thaiday.

Smith had to take over conversion duties after Thurston suffered a sickening knee injury earlier in the game when attempting a tackle on Blues prop Anthony Watmough.

JT’s exit from the game was the only sour note on Queensland’s big night and has put the NRL future of the Cowboys this season under a cloud of doubt.

Getting back to business without Thurston, the Maroons held strong and just four minutes after Slater’s effort big Greg bagged himself an Origin Game 3 double scoring in the 69^th minute.

Again it was too little too late for New South Wales who posted the final points of the season with two tries inside the closing 10 minutes.

Jarryd Hayne got himself a rare eight-point try, Smith penalised and put on report for a sliding knee tackle in-goal allowing Soward back-to-back goals after the try.

With two minutes on the clock, Greg Bird scored a consolation try for the Blues, Soward converting again, but it did little to dint the pride of the supreme series winning Queensland squad.

As always, this year’s State of Origin impacts the NRL Telstra Premiership both good and bad.

With NRL Round 18 kicking off on Friday night, the Eels will take on the Tigers at Parramatta Stadium without Hayne and the Tigers are the early narrow favourites at $1.85 through Luxbet.

The other Friday night footy match sees the Titans travel to Mt Smart Stadium to play the Warriors, the Gold Coast possibly to have Mat Rogers back in the line up but are still the long-priced underdogs at $3.35 through Luxbet.

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To say this do-or-die decider is monumental is a token statement at best.

Tonight is the last time Queenslanders can cheer on their decorated skipper Darren Lockyer, the boy from Brisbane donning the Maroon jersey for a record 36^th and final time as he leads out the Canetoad squad.

Favourites in the Luxbet State of Origin odds at $1.53 and firming, Queensland are vying for an unprecedented sixth straight series win tonight over the Blues, and you can bet the New South Welshman are ready to fight it out until the final siren.

Setting up this scintillating showdown was the Blues upset win over the Maroons in Sydney in Origin Game II last month, but despite the loss sprits are high in the Queensland camp.

All the champions young and old are ready to put in 110 per cent on the field not only for the bragging rights, not only for the capacity crowd of mad Maroons fans, but for their retiring captain.

While all the attention has been on Locky and the fairytale farewell everybody in the Sunshine State is so desperately praying for, Ricky Stuart and his boys have flown under the radar somewhat in the Origin betting.

The Blues are the $2.55 Luxbet underdogs, and while they don’t have the experience, field time or the legendary fighting Queensland spirit, New South Wales do have plenty to play for.

This is it for the Cockroaches, win this and they will embark on a new era in Origin football, lose to Queensland for a sixth time in a row and there seems little hope that an Origin played at ANZ Stadium will ever be a sell-out again.

While the players are going through their pre-game routines, the pubs on the iconic Caxton Street are starting to pour the beers, the spectators are getting their supporter gear clean and pressed, it is the punters who should be the busiest in this State of Origin 2011 countdown!

Everyone on both sides of the Tweed love a bet on the Origin, you wouldn’t be a footy fan if you didn’t.

And while the easiest way to show your support for your state is with a Head-to-Head win bet on your team at Luxbet, there is a whole range of other ways to turn your love of footy into cold, hard cash!

Right now at Luxbet there are over 100 State of Origin betting markets open and ready for you to win big off.

Here’s a quick look at some of the best.

2011 State of Origin Game 3 Betting Markets

Winning Margin Luxbet

• Queensland 13+ – $3.25
• Queensland 1 – 12 – $2.25
• Draw – $23
• New South Wales 1 – 12 – $3.50
• New South Wales 13+ – $7.50

First to Score A Try Luxbet

• Queensland – $1.77
• New South Wales – $2.05

First Scoring Team Wins? Luxbet

• Yes – 1^st Scoring Team Wins – $1.57
• No – 1^st Scoring Team Loses $2.35

Time of First Try Luxbet

• 00:01 to 07:59 – $2.20
• 08:00 or Over – $1.66

First Tryscorer Luxbet

• Boyd, Darius (QLD) – $10
• Slater, Billy (QLD) – $10
• Yow Yeh, Jharal (QLD) – $10

For full markets, T’s and C’s and to bet visit Luxbet.

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The Origin series scoreboard reads one-all, Queensland having won a gritty game one in May before a gallant fight-back and upset victory by the New South Wales Blues when they had the home ground advantage in Sydney last month.

State of Origin 2011 Game 3 is now a do-or-die decider and the Mal Meninga-coached Maroons know the feverish capacity crowd at Suncorp Stadium won’t accept anything other than a big win from their mighty squad.

Whether you have one of the coveted Game 3 State of Origin Tickets and will be there on the night to witness the magic, mayhem and madness, or if you are preparing for a big night in with the beers already in the fridge, now is the time to get you Origin bets down at Luxbet – don’t leave it till kickoff and forget!

The Canetoads are on the brink of a sixth, consecutive State of Origin series win and adding to the pressure is that Wednesday’s State v State showdown will be Lockyer’s final appearance for the Maroons.

Despite suffering a loss down south of the border in the second instalment of Rugby League’s greatest tournament, Queensland have retained their State of Origin Betting favouritism.

The Lockyer-lead squad of legends, both old and new, sit at the top of the State of Origin Odds paying $1.55 at Australia’s leading bookmaker Luxbet to etch their name on the Origin shield for a sixth year in a row through.

Ricky Stuart’s Blues showed they had a bit of that legendary Queensland spirit of their own in game two, their price to beat the defending Origin winners in a series for the first time since 2005 being $2.50 at Luxbet.

Queensland named a very similar Origin Game 3 Team as in the opening two encounters, the major change being the suspension and subsequent omission of South Sydney’s man mountain Dave Taylor.

Justin Hodges comes back into the game, returning from injury and will be a welcome edition for Locky’s swansong having played beside the to-be-immortal for years at club level with the Brisbane Broncos.

Going by experience and Origin appearances alone, Queensland have this in the bag, explaining their favouritism in the Luxbet Origin markets.

But an emerging Blues outfit know they have the potential to beat the Maroons, and the ability to be the team that kicks off a new era for New South Wales.

On paper the sunshine state stars have little to worry about.

Take the numbers of the No. 6’s for example.

Lockyer in the Maroon’s No. 6 will be donning the jersey for the 36^th time on Wednesday night, compared with New South’s Jamie Soward who only made his Origin debut this year.

Locky is the greatest in the game, hands down, but Soward has a few kicking tricks up his boot and will be out to match the man and Queensland must watch him and put far more pressure on the Dragons’ star than they did in Game 2.

Then there’s the battle of the up-and-coming flyers.

For Queensland Jharal Yow Yeh has been an absolute standout.

Scoring on debut in Game 1, the Maroon No. 5 and Broncos young gun made a few key errors in game two, but will be out to atone for those errors and there will be plenty of smart punters at Luxbet betting on Yow Yeh in the First Tryscorer markets.

In the Blues No. 5 is Newcastle Knights star Akuila Uate, also playing in just his third Origin match.

He has the speed and turn of foot to leave a lagging Queensland wall of defence in his wake, also making him an attractive bet for punters in the State of Origin Tryscorer Odds at Luxbet.

Lockyer isn’t the only star in the Maroon’s instrumental backbone, there’s also Johnathan Thurston, Cameron Smith and big old Petero Civoniceva.

These blokes have been there and done that time in and time out, but the fire is still in their bellies, the skills are still there for all to see and this experience, combined with the home crowd support, make Queensland a very hard team to beat.

So back the mighty Maroons at Luxbet now before odds shorten, or if you are a true blue New South Wales supporter, jump on their juicy Luxbet price for an upset and prepare for the nail-biting finale!

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2011 State of Origin XXXX Maroons Queensland Team Game 3:

1. Billy Slater (Melbourne Storm)

2. Darius Boyd (St George Illawarra Dragons)

3. Justin Hodges (Brisbane Broncos)

4. Greg Inglis (South Sydney Rabbitohs)

5. Jharal Yow Yeh (Brisbane Broncos)

6. Darren Lockyer (c) (Brisbane Broncos)

7. Johnathan Thurston (North Queensland Cowboys)

8. Matthew Scott (North Queensland Cowboys)

9. Cameron Smith (Melbourne Storm)

10. Petero Civoniceva (Penrith Panthers)

11. Nate Myles (Sydney Roosters)

12. Sam Thaiday (Brisbane Broncos)

13. Ashley Harrison (Gold Coast Titans)

Interchange

Cooper Cronk (Melbourne Storm)

Ben Hannant (Brisbane Broncos)

Jacob Lillyman (New Zealand Warriors)

Dane Nielsen (Melbourne Storm)

Corey Parker (Brisbane Broncos)

Coached by the master of league Wayne Bennett, the Dragons are this year vying for their third Minor Premiership win on the trot as well as back-to-back title as the season’s NRL premiership winning club.

At the start of the season punters couldn’t get any NRL Futures odds of more than $3 on the in-form Red and White’s to win the coveted 2011 NRL Grand Final on the first Sunday of October.

But now midway through the 26-round regular NRL season, the Dragons and their once flawless wall of defence is marred by injury, a big part of that thanks to the plethora of players they have had in the State of Origin series for 2011.

League supports can now get NRL betting odds as long as $4 on the Dragons to win the 2011 NRL Premiership at Luxbet.

The St George Illawarra casualty ward seems to be growing round by round, the club without Cameron King (Pectoral) since the opening round and Matt Cooper (cheekbone) since round 13.

Other sidelined players for the quickly crippling Dragons line-up includes State of Origin Blues duo of Beau Scott (medial ligament / ear drum) and Ben Creagh (ankle) who are at least a fortnight away from returning.

There’s also winger Brett Morris, the flyer out with a hamstring injury for the past three weeks.

Fifteen rounds in, the Dragons have dropped into second spot on the NRL Ladder under the Melbourne Storm who scored the top spot thanks to their tidy 12 – 4 win over the Wests Tigers at Leichardt Oval on Sunday afternoon.

Currently the Storm are the $6 third favourites at Luxbet to score this year’s NRL Premiership trophy, with the Manly Sea Eagles the surprise of the season sitting as the $4.50 futures second elects.

Melbourne Storm have racked up the most wins for the season so far with 11, while St George gave up their spot at the top when failing to rope in the rapidly improving Brisbane Broncos last Friday night.

Both the Dragons and the Broncos had a number of players backing up from State of Origin Game 2, but it was the home-side heroes who best performed and Brisbane rattled the Dragons with a strong 21 – 14 victory in front of a roaring Suncorp Stadium crowd.

In a further blow for the joint-venture Dragons, captain Ben Hornby has been added to the growing list of injured stars when he suffered an ankle injury that saw him sit out the entire second-half of last Friday night’s loss.

Brisbane, who farewell skipper Darren Lockyer at the end of the season, are the final NRL team at single-figure odds to win the premiership paying a still-appealing $9 through Luxbet and sit fifth on the Ladder with 10 victories – equal with the Dragons, Sea Eagles and the fellow Queensland-club the Cowboys.

The Sea Eagles will get their chance to knock the Storm off the top rung when they take on the Parramatta Eels at Brookvale Oval on Monday night, Manly the raging favourites to do just that.

Starting this Friday night, the NRL Premiership moves into Round 16 and a top-of-the-table blockbuster is scheduled for Monday June 27, the Dragons hosting the Sea Eagles at WIN Stadium.

Whether you fancy the Dragons to bounce back and defeat Manly next week, or you want to get in on the exciting State of Origin betting markets for next month’s do-or-die decider, leading online bookmaker Luxbet have all your NRL odds covered.

Sign up with Luxbet during this year’s NRL Premiership and enjoy a bonus bet up to $400 simply by opening a new account and quoting the promo code BONUS400 when you make your first deposit!

Blues players and coaching staff had appealed to the New South Wales fans to brave the cold and get out to support their state and the Blue army of supporters turned out in force at ANZ Stadium, a near capacity crowd of 81,965 there to see their team snap a four-game losing streak.

It’s now GAME ON for Queensland to send long-serving skipper Darren Lockyer off on a winning note when the Maroons attempt to bounce back and secure their unprecedented sixth straight State of Origin series win in the third and final game back in Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium on July 6.

Last night the Blues came out firing on all cylinders, knowing it was do or die for a club that had failed to earn the right to get their name engraved on the coveted State of Origin shield for the past five years.

Dedication from coach Ricky Stewart and a new-found spirit of teamwork running through the Blues squad saw the boys from south of the Tweed match the Maroons, beating them at their own game and rewarding all the devoted Luxbet punters that had backed the Blues for an Origin upset.

Early on the commanding Canetoads held an eight to nil lead over the home side after a penalty kick from Maroon halfback Johnathan Thurston in the third minute was followed by a soft Cameron Smith try.

With opening points posted from a Queensland penalty, Luxbet punters that had money on this result would have enjoyed a very tidy payout early on!

Darting from dummy-half five metres out in the 24^th minute, hooker Smith found a lazy gap in the Blues defence to get over for what would turn out to be the Maroons’ sole try of the game, Smith paying a juicy $21 as first tryscorer of the night through Luxbet.

But the Blues displayed the never say die mentality that their 31-year adversaries are so famous for, New South Wales digging deep and scoring 18 unanswered points to set up a thrilling series decider in three weeks time.

The Maroons took an 8 – 6 lead to the sheds at halftime, the Blues getting in the game thanks to interchange forward Luke Lewis’ awesome four-pointer 10 minutes from the break.

Having come off the bench about a minute earlier, Lewis was able to capitalise off a Mitchell Pearce kick with just his second touch of the ball producing the Blues opening points as he out-leapt Queensland fullback Billy Slater to score in the corner.

Back from the break, the Blues quickly set the precedence for the second 40 minute set with Origin debutant, young Will Hopoate scoring their second try of the night in the 49^th minute.

Playing left centre for just the third time in his short but impressive NRL career to date, Hopoate was one of the many stars in Blue last night scoring a four-pointer on debut as is becoming tradition for young guns in the Origin arena.

In a blow for Hopoate, whose acrobatic putdown was nothing short of miraculous, 10 minutes after scoring he came off with a hamstring injury.

The three-tries-to-one Game Two Origin victory was sealed for the Blues when recalled fullback Anthony Minichello, playing his first Origin game in six years, found a Jamie Soward off-load to get over and put the result beyond doubt in the 77^th minute.

There was no denying the Blues played the better game of footy, much of the accolades falling to captain Paul Gallen who seems to have found his spot as prop forward; critics of Stewarts’ decision to play Gallen in front quickly and swiftly silenced.

Earning Man of the Match, Gallen played a nearly unheard of 80 minutes of Origin football last night, featuring in 18 hit-ups and making 30 tackles.

Stewart was there in the coaching box six long years ago when the Blues last won a State of Origin series, and the mastercoach is on the verge of doing it again in 2011.

After squaring the 2011 State of Origin series one-all, New South Wales have now firmed in from as much as $4.60 to $2.35 at Luxbet to reclaim bragging rights and deny the Maroons another series win.

Despite their second-round defeat, Queensland have retained favouritism now paying $1.60 at Luxbet to win the decider and the series in Origin Game 3.

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