State of Origin 1

NSW win State of Origin opener

In front of a crowd of 87,122 at the MCG, the Blues took a 1-0 series lead after a hard-fought and fluctuating match that saw a number of fresh faces step up to the Origin challenge.

The Blues held onto a 8-6 lead at the break and fell behind early in the second half, but powered home to score the final three tries.

Rookies Latrell Mitchell, Tom Trbojevic and Josh Addo-Carr all crossed, as did fullback James Tedesco who was the Blues' best.

It was billed as the start of a new era in State of Origin.

Slater out of Origin I

Brisbane's Anthony Milford and Newcastle's Kalyn Ponga will be flown into Melbourne as potential replacements.

Veteran fullback Slater's shock withdrawal after aggravating a hamstring injury is a major setback for a Maroons team already without a total of 151 Origin games worth of experience as they begin life without retired greats Cameron Smith, Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk.

Slater - a veteran of 29 Origins - had already confirmed he would retire from representative football after the 2018 series.