Tolu Koula Starts on the Wing for NSW in Origin Debut

tolu koula will start on the wing for New South Wales in Wednesday's State of Origin series opener, a rare call for a State of Origin rookie who has never started there in the NRL. The Manly back is one of only a few NSW players in nearly a decade to be named in a position they had not opened in at club level.

Koula and the Blues' wing call

New South Wales chose Koula on the wing despite his NRL record showing starts only at centre, fullback or from the bench across 92 games for the Sea Eagles. He said the decision did not catch him off guard.

“To be honest, I wasn't too shocked,” Koula said after being selected on the wing. “I'm just grateful to play anywhere that's needed.”

The selection puts him into a role he has handled before, just not often at this level. He has started on the wing in four internationals for Tonga and in a handful of NSW Cup games, and he has also been shifted there mid-game in the NRL after injuries.

Dale Finucane, Matt Moylan

The Blues have rarely asked a player to debut or start in Origin from an unfamiliar position. Since 2017, lock Dale Finucane is the only other NSW player to have been named in the 13 in a position where he had never started at NRL level.

For a backline player, the last similar case came in 2016, when Penrith's Matt Moylan was picked at five-eighth for game three rather than his usual fullback role. Koula's selection now places him in that same narrow category of unusual Origin calls.

He said the wing and centre are close enough that the move does not demand a complete reset. “It's not too different from centre. I'm not too fazed about it,” he said. “Just a few more yardage carries and having to defuse bombs and stuff. Probably a bit less tackling.”

Brian To'o on the edge

That adjustment becomes easier with Brian To'o next to him. To'o has started on the wing in every Origin game since his debut in 2021 and has twice won Dally M Winger of the Year, giving Koula an established reference point on the same edge.

“There are different things but, at the same time, it is a bit the same as well,” Koula said of the switch. “What better winger to learn off?”

Stephen Crichton and Kotoni Staggs won the centre spots ahead of him, but the wing still got him into the series opener. For NSW, the move hands Origin debut responsibility to a player who has already worked across the backline, and it asks him to translate that club-and-representative range into one of the game's most scrutinized jerseys.