League: NSW skipper benched as Hayne cleared

Kurt Gidley will captain NSW from the bench in State of Origin II. Photo / Getty Images

SYDNEY - NSW selectors have dumped skipper Kurt Gidley to the bench after Jarryd Hayne was given a State of Origin reprieve by the NRL judiciary on Tuesday night.

Hayne was found not guilty of headbutting Melbourne and Queensland rival Billy Slater and will take his place as NSW fullback for Wednesday week's second match of the series at Suncorp Stadium.

It has left Gidley to captain NSW from the bench with recalled five-eighth Trent Barrett to lead the side onto the paddock as his deputy - an unprecedented move in what has already been an anything-but-normal lead-up for the Blues.

Hayne's not guilty finding sets up an absorbing rematch with Queensland No 1 Slater, his naming in his preferred No 1 jumper capping a memorable night in which he was cleared of a striking infringement.

The Parramatta star got off thanks to the peculiar wording of the striking charge emanating from Friday's game against Melbourne, but it wasn't all good news for the Blues with Luke Lewis left devastated after being found guilty of a dangerous throw - costing the 26-year-old a fifth Origin start.

Lewis joins prop Jason King, fullback Josh Dugan and game one debutant Jamal Idris in being omitted from the 21-man squad named on Monday night, the Blues side featuring six new faces from the defeated Origin I side.

St George Illawarra centre Beau Scott will make his Origin debut, while halfback Mitchell Pearce and lock Paul Gallen have also won starting berths.

Nathan Hindmarsh and Luke O'Donnell have had their representative careers resurrected on the bench, with Gidley's demotion one of ten personnel and positional changes from the side beaten 28-24 at ANZ Stadium.

Hayne admitted to making intentional contact with Slater's head, but claimed it was more an action to get the Storm ace away from him with their arms intertwined during the altercation.

"I'm just very, very, very happy - it pretty much just rattled me and I'm just so excited to be part of the squad now," Hayne said.

"It happened so fast ... I just can't wait to see the boys."

Asked how worried he had been in the lead-up to the hearing, Hayne said:

"Obviously very - State of Origin's such a massive thing. I'm just glad I can be a part of it."

Crucial to Hayne's not guilty finding were the instructions given to the three man panel - which included former Queensland Origin stalwart Bob Lindner - by judiciary chairman Paul Conlon.

"You have to be satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the act of player Hayne in bringing his forehead into contact with the forehead of player Slater was done with the intention to injure him or cause him significant pain," Conlon said.

Once handed those parameters, the result was a forgone conclusion with the panel taking little time to clear Hayne.

The panel rejected Lewis' defence that his Penrith teammate Sam McKendry played a significant role in turning the lifting tackle on Newcastle utility Matt Hilder into a dangerous hit, and he was slugged with a 187-point penalty and one-week ban.

"It's pretty hard to explain - it's a personal goal of mine and a dream since I was a kid has been taken away," Lewis said.

"I thought we pleaded our case pretty well, I thought we were definitely going to get off the way everything came across."

- AAP