The Crystal Ball - State of Origin 1

• Justin Hodges to prove his worth in the rep arena with an outstanding performance after being overlooked for Australia. He also proves once more that he is one of the dirtiest players in the game after eye gouging Trent Hodkinson.
• Mitchell Pearce only kicks out on the full twice, only throws four hospital passes and only misses seven tackles as Laurie Daley exclaims after the game "Mitch played great for us tonight. He did his job and that's all I can ask of him. He'll be even better come game two..."
• Will Hopoate bombs three certain tries for the Blues, because they can't even spell execution at Parramatta let alone produce it.
• After a stunning start to the season, Michael Morgan has a shocking Origin debut while Ben Hunt sits on his couch with a smile like a Cheshire cat.
• Hodkinson does his hammy early in the second half and is forced out of the match. Leaving the Blues to bring on their utility player... um... Andrew Fifita?
• The message from the bread and butter fans regarding the ridiculous ticket pricing finally gets through as the lowest ever crowd to an Origin at game at ANZ Stadium is recorded.
• As with the last three seasons Darius Boyd will be defensively sound, make big meters from dummy half and score a double, before going back to club land and playing shithouse.
• Trent Merrin to finally make an impact at this level. His late footwork and offload has the Maroons defence second guessing themselves when he arrives into the match and is a nice change from Josh Jacksons' contribution of... tackling?
• high scoring affair with Queensland coming out on top 26-18. Billy Slaters' combination with his Melbourne Storm teammates was missed drastically in the ANZAC Test. They'll show why tonight.

That's all the ball has for Origin one! Good luck to your state and try not to have a sickie on Thursday!*

* If your boss is an asshole go for your life