Origin roll grows to seven with Capewell selection

Second rower Kurt Capewell is set to be the seventh player – and the first in seven years – to play in the State of Origin series while contracted to the One New Zealand Warriors.

The 30-year-old has been named on Queensland’s interchange for the second match of the 2024 Origin series in Melbourne on June 26.

It will be his 10th Origin match after playing each of the six games in the 2020 and 2021 series as a Penrith player and then all three in 2022 when he was with Brisbane.

The number of Warriors players to appear at Origin level could grow to eight if prop-second rower Mitchell Barnett is elevated to the New South Wales playing side in the event of injury or if he gets on the field on June 26 after being named as 18th man yesterday.

Should Barnett make his debut it would be the first time since 2015 that two Warriors players have been involved in the same Origin match. In that series both Ryan Hoffman (New South Wales) and Jacob Lillyman (Queensland) were selected while with the Warriors, playing in all three matches.

Lillyman made the last of his 14 Origin appearances in game one of the 2017 series, playing 10 times for the Maroons during his 188-game career with the Warriors.

Making the most Origin appearances in his time with the club was ex-captain Steve Price with 12 across five series after 16 during his time with the Bulldogs.

The celebrated Kevin Campion was the first Warrior selected for Origin when he turned out for the Maroons in 2001 while Hoffman is the only player to appear for New South Wales so far.