The bad blood between New South Wales and Queensland has continued to fester in the lead-up to Origin II, with NSWRL questioning the State of Origin eligibility of Maroons debutant Ronaldo Mulitalo.
Mulitalo was vaulted into Paul Green's starting line-up on the eve of Game Two after Reece Walsh suffered a hamstring injury in the Maroons' captain's run.
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According to NRL.com, NSWRL CEO Dave Trodden has approached the NRL with a please explain about Mulitalo's eligibility, saying that the answer "seems to be clear".
While the Sharks winger has previously represented Queensland at both the under-18 and under-20 level, the State of Origin eligibility rules state that a player must either be born in NSW or Queensland or reside there before their 13th birthday to represent their respective state.
Questions over the New Zealand-born Mulitalo's eligibility were raised after an article from 2019 stated that he had only moved to Queensland from New Zealand at age 14.
The QRL has not made an official comment on the questions regarding the Cronulla Sharks star's eligibility.
Legendary NSW Blues coach Phil Gould slammed NSWRL's decision to question Mulitalo's Origin eligibility, labelling it "laughable".
"If he wants to play for NZ on the International stage, that should be his right. As far as I'm concerned he has more than met the criteria to be selected for QLD," Gould tweeted.
"Why can't he do both? Because stupid qualification rules prevent him from doing so.
"So do we see him playing for Queensland under 18s and Under 20s as a criteria or as a qualification? Hmmm? He plays for these teams, but can't play for QLD in Origin? What kind of system is that?
"When Origin began 1980, rugby league was predominantly Anglo-Saxon sport played in Sydney and Brisbane. Our game is anything but that these days. Thankfully. Inclusiveness is our strength. The demographics have changed. Representative qualifications need to move with the times."
The Mulitalo case is far from the first time that the two states have grappled over the eligibility issue, with Maroons great Greg Inglis' eligibility for Queensland a famous example.
Alongside Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk, Johnathan Thurston and Billy Slater, Inglis often proved a defining factor for the Maroons in the centres across their 11-year dynasty during the late 2000s and most of the 2010s.
His controversial decision to play for Queensland despite being born in Kempsey on NSW's mid North Coast and playing his first senior game at age 16 for Newcatle's Hunter Sports High, is one that has drawn enduring frustration from Blues fans over his career.
Inglis once explained that he elected to play for Queensland because at the time of his decision he had been "living up there for two years" and it was "where he wanted to stay", with desires to play for the Broncos.
In the wake of the 2014 premiership winner's retirement in 2019, NRL immortal Andrew Johns, historically miffed at Inglis' Origin allegiance, chose to pass on the conjecture.
"I think we've spoken about this at length," he said.
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