Callum Mills Leads NSW Side in Qld Vs Nsw AFL Reveal
Zero Hanger’s qld vs nsw AFL State of Origin exercise landed with Callum Mills at full-back and captain for New South Wales, while Queensland’s side was built under the same junior-club qualification rule used at the start of the year. The selection sheet arrives as Melbourne hosts Game 2 of the Rugby Origin series between the two states, giving the rivalry a footy-side comparison on the same night.
Callum Mills leads NSW
Mills anchored the back line for NSW, with Jack Buckley and Connor O'Sullivan beside him. Riley Bice, Nick Blakey and Harry Cunningham filled the half-back line, while Errol Gulden, Matthew Kennedy and Will Setterfield were named in the centre. Jarrod Witts took the ruck, Isaac Heeney lined up as ruck rover and James Peatling was picked at rover.
The forward structure was set with Lachlan Schultz, Jobe Shanahan and Harvey Thomas in the half-forward line, then Harrison Himmelberg, Taylor Walker and Patrick Voss deep. Lachlan McAndrew, Jacob Hopper, Cooper Sharman, Daniel Turner and Dane Rampe were listed on a five-player interchange.
Nick Blakey in the spotlight
Blakey was framed as the star after his breakout All-Australian season, which places extra weight on his half-back role in a side built from junior-club origin rather than current club loyalty. Heeney also stands out in the middle, where he was described as arguably the best player in the competition right now.
Witts gives the team a clear edge at the ruck, with the write-up calling him the tap ruckman you want on a side like this. That sort of spine — Witts, Heeney and Blakey — is what gives the hypothetical NSW lineup its shape before a ball is even bounced.
Origin rule shapes the teams
The qualification rule stayed the same as the AFL’s Origin clash at the start of the year: players were picked on the basis of their junior club location from where they were drafted. That keeps the exercise tied to origin rather than current club lists, and it is what makes the comparison with Queensland possible on the same selection terms.
This year also brought Victoria v Western Australia State of Origin back to footy, but the NSW-Queensland rivalry still sits at the centre of the concept. The result is a representative-style team sheet that lets readers judge the Blues against the Maroons by origin lines, not by week-to-week club form.
