NRL: Bloodied Lillyman gets Origin nod

Jacob Lillyman. Photo / Sarah Ivey

He departed Mt Smart Stadium on Sunday with a mask of blood covering his face and his nose pointing in a new direction but Jacob Lillyman says his badly broken nose won't affect him in his next match - for Queensland in next Wednesday night's blockbuster State of Origin decider.

"It's still a bit tender, she's still a bit sore," Lillyman said. "It hasn't healed up fully on the outside but it is feeling a bit better.

"It probably looked a bit worse than it was. It should be all sweet, mate."

Lillyman's face was swollen and tender when inspected by club doctor John Mayhew yesterday but he should be fine to take to the field next Wednesday.

"He won't appreciate getting another whack on it, but that's the way it is," Mayhew said. "A lot of players play with broken noses. It depends on the individual and Jake is a pretty stoic kind of guy."

Lillyman received a call telling him to fly to Australia and link with the Queensland team while he was out having a beer with his Warriors teammates on Monday night, but he didn't find out he would be in the match-day 17 as a replacement for suspended Souths forward Dave Taylor until shortly before the team was announced yesterday.

"It was a bit of a surprise," he said. "I wasn't really expecting it. I hadn't really been following what was going on [in Australia].

"I didn't really find out until I got over here that big Dave [Taylor] was going to take the early guilty plea [to a dangerous throw charge].

"When [coach] Mal [Meninga] pulled me aside and told me I was having a run it was a nice surprise."

Lillyman's tender nose is sure to get a serious workout next Wednesday night. In camp on the Sunshine Coast, the Queenslanders were preparing for a "brutal battle".

With the resurgent Blues seeking to avoid a sixth consecutive series loss the match is billed as one of the biggest ever, however Lillyman said the Maroons would be unaffected by the hype and expectation.

"We just get in our own little cocoon and will be kind of oblivious to what is going on everywhere else. But it's only common sense to know what is at stake and what sort of game it is."

Lillyman played in Queensland's series-opening 16-12 victory in Brisbane but was dropped for the Game II defeat in Sydney, with his place going to Taylor.

However Taylor yesterday entered a guilty plea to a dangerous throw charge resulting from the Rabbitohs' victory over the Broncos on Friday night. Taylor contested the grading of the charge but will be suspended for next Wednesday's match regardless of whether the charge is downgraded.

Powerhouse test centre Justin Hodges returns to State of Origin football for the first time in two years.

Back from various injury woes, Hodges was selected to play his first Origin match since Game III of 2009 as he returns to the Queensland backline at the expense of Dane Nielsen, who was added to an expanded five-man bench.

There is anger in the Queensland ranks after NSW winger Akuila Uate escaped a ban for a dangerous throw and was able to take his place in the second Origin game, yet Taylor has been rubbed out for the deciding match for a similar offence.

Meninga said he was disappointed Taylor's guilty plea meant he would be ruled out but vowed the Maroons would put the issue behind them and he refused to be drawn on any perceived inconsistency by the NRL match review committee.

"You're not going to get me saying anything, we have still picked a side that we believe will be successful," Meninga said.

"Obviously disappointed we won't be with Taylor. They [Souths] have made a decision that they can't defend the charge so they will plead guilty and hope to get a downgrade.

"It allows us to prepare for the whole week, we will just get on with the job. It's done and dusted now."

- Additional reporting AAP