League: Gower out of Origin opener

Blues half-back Craig Gower has been ruled out of the opening State of Origin match after injuring his knee at training last night.

The Penrith star hurt his right knee in a collision with New South Wales team-mate Steve Menzies and was immediately taken to hospital for scans.

New South Wales media manager Tristan Hay confirmed that the scans revealed Gower had sustained cartilage damage to the knee and he would undergo surgery this morning.

Mr Hay said Sydney Roosters half-back Brett Finch had been called into the New South Wales squad to replace Gower.

Earlier on Tuesday evening Newcastle half-back Andrew Johns rejected a call-up to the Blues squad to replace Gower should he be ruled out.

Johns has retired from representative football to concentrate on his club commitments with the Knights.

It is further turmoil for the Blues, with captain and hooker Danny Buderus remaining in doubt with a back injury.

He completed running drills at training yesterday but a decision on whether he will play in the clash with Queensland at the Olympic stadium tonight will be left until the last minute.

"[I'm] very happy with the progression that I've made so I've still got 24 hours," he said.

"But in saying that I want to be fair to the team and they come first before me."

Penrith's Luke Priddis has been training with the side as back-up for Buderus.

The Blues have already lost Matt Cooper to a hamstring injury, while fellow Test centre Mark Gasnier has struggled in recent weeks with a hip injury.

Timana Tahu, moved into the centres to cover for Cooper, was struck down with a virus on Monday but coach Grahah Murray said today that he would be fit to play.

The Maroons had their final training run at Parramatta Stadium yesterday after arriving in Sydney, and apart from captain Darren Lockyer's bathroom mishap have had a relatively uninterrupted preparation.

"You never get it perfect but it's been good, and we're confident enough now that what we've achieved over the last eight or nine days is sufficient enough for us to get a good win up on Wednesday night," assistant coach Kevin Walters said.

The Maroons will have to overcome a poor record at the Olympic stadium, with the team having never won a match at the ground in 10 attempts.

TEAMS

NSW

Brett Hodgson
Matt King
Mark Gasnier
Timana Tahu
Eric Grothe
Braith Anasta
Brett Finch
Brent Kite
Danny Buderus
Willie Mason
Nathan Hindmarsh
Steve Simpson
Luke O'Donnell

QUEENSLAND

Matt Bowen
Greg Inglis
Justin Hodges
Brent Tate
Steven Bell
Darren Lockyer (c)
J. Thurston
Steve Price
Cameron Smith
Petero Civoniceva
David Stagg
Matthew Scott
Dallas Johnson

INTERCHANGE

NSW: Craig Wing, Steve Menzies, Mark O'Meley, Andrew Ryan
Queensland: Shaun Berrigan, Carl Webb, Sam Thaiday, Nate Myles

- RADIO AUSTRALIA