Billy Slater is not expecting special "Origin rules" in this year's series and his counterpart Laurie Daley is on the same wavelength.
The new ruck interpretations in the NRL, and in particular with regard to multiple six-agains, have been pointed to by pundits as a reason for scoreline blowouts and one-sided affairs. Tit-for-tat high scoring matches have also occurred in 2026.
There is a fear that State of Origin could descend into a points spree in a worst case scenario and detract from the fabric of what makes it the greatest spectacle in Australian sport, if the same guidelines are used in the Origin arena where the pace of the game is at its most extreme.
"That won't occupy too much of my headspace," Slater said.
"At the end of the day, players have habits that they practice regularly. Referees are the same.
"It's really hard to turn on a dime and swivel and change the way that you perform your role.
"The referees and the NRL will be thinking the game will be how it is ... The game's not refereed how it was back in the 90s. In the 90s it was refereed how the NRL was, and I think that'll be the same now."
Daley, like Slater, has picked a side that has pace to burn in the outside backs and forwards that are mobile, fit and able to shine under fatigue.
"I don't know how it's going to be refereed," Daley said.
"If it's going to be refereed like the NRL, well, obviously you've got to have that mobility, and hence we've sort of gone down that path."
One new development for Origin is the six-man bench from which four interchange players can be inserted into the game, as has been the case from the start of the 2026 NRL season.
The new composition has allowed coaches to have specialists on a bench, as in the case of Queensland's selection of Brisbane five-eighth Ezra Mam.
It has also encouraged the selection of starting players who can slot in to multiple positions when injury strikes. The Maroons have centre Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and winger Selwyn Cobbo who can play all outside back positions with distinction.
Starting lock Max Plath can play anywhere in the forwards and also in the halves at a pinch.
"There has to be versatility," Slater said.
"I think we've seen in Origins that you have to be flexible, you have to be able to move positions.
"I remember a game (in 2023) down in Adelaide. We had both centres playing on the wing and we had Ben Hunt playing in the centres and you just had to find a way.
"The game is shifting a little bit, but it's still the game. You still have to run hard, you still have to tackle, you have to kick the ball, you can't forget the foundations of the game."
