Huge Blues blow as Latrell Mitchell out of State of Origin game II

The Blues have not even made it two days into camp for the must-win State of Origin clash in Brisbane without a major blow.

Latrell Mitchell is out of State of Origin game II with reports the star has been ruled out six days out from the must-win clash.

Mitchell suffered a calf strain leading into the first match of the series and hasn’t played a match since.

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Selected in hope he could overcome the issue with a reduced training schedule for the opening few days before he commenced a full training load from Sunday, the South Sydney fullback has been ruled out of the clash.

The news will see Panthers centre Stephen Crichton slot into the role he played in Origin 1 in Adelaide, while Bulldogs five-eighth Matt Burton has been called into Blues camp.

The latter news was broken by Bulldogs football boss Phil Gould who confirmed Burton would not play on the weekend.

“Matt Burton called into NSW Origin as 18th man. Won’t play for @NRL_Bulldogs this weekend,” the tweet read.

Mitchell arriving at training camp. Picture: Adam Yip

Mitchell’s selection in the Blues’ game two squad raised question marks before the squad had even been announced as the Rabbitohs star hadn’t played since May 19 — which would be nearly five weeks by game time on June 21.

The Blues had gone to extraordinary lengths to get Mitchell and Cameron Murray fit, inviting the Rabbitohs’ club physio into the NSW camp.

It was a move which had former Blues player Braith Anasta scratching his head.

“I’ve never heard of this,” Anasta said on NRL 360 on Monday night.

“I’ve never heard of during an Origin camp, a physio from club going into Origin camp during to make sure everything’s okay.

“This smells of negativity to me. You’ve got an Origin camp, the players go in, the clubs are second guessing the treatment of their players while they’re in NSW camp so they’re sending in their own physios — what is going on?”

The news isn’t all bad for the Blues however injured stars Murray and Liam Martin on track to be fit for the match.

Murray and Martin are racing the clock. Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

However, Blues adviser Greg Alexander admitted the pair still needed to prove their fitness in sessions on Friday and Sunday.

“We have got a couple of sessions to get through, so that will be the deciding factor on those players,” Alexander said.

“We have got to wait and see. That is basically where that is at. As of today I can’t say 100 per cent that they will be playing, but I’m quietly confident.

“The players need to get through Friday’s session and Sunday’s session before anyone can declare anything.

“We will give them as long as they need.”

Murray, who suffered a groin injury against the Gold Coast Titans after backing up after State of Origin game I in Adelaide, admitted he wasn’t 100 per cent to play.

While he is still no certainty to play, he said he was happy after testing the injury in training.

“The physio here watched me do my second run so he could understand what I’m doing and what the progression needs to look like,” he said.

“We just built in some stride running, a few changes of direction, some acceleration and deceleration sprints and then some volume conditioning mixed in with an agility block.

“I was happy with how it went.”

The injured trio in Blues camp. Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images

Martin was dealing with concussion after the Panthers win over the Roosters on Saturday but said he was fully recovered, despite not being able to do any contact work until Tuesday, leaving just one session before the match.

The World Cup winner had four stitches as a result of the tackle, conceding his technique went out the window when he rushed out of the line to tackle Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.

“I got it wrong,” he said.

“Watching it back, I said to our defensive coach at Penrith that it was an awful technique. I had a bit of a red moment and was too fired up, so I tried to fly out of the line with no technique.”