A few quick stats on the 44 players named.
- 24 of the 44 come from the top 4 teams and 31 of 44 come from the top 6 teams.
- Newcastle had 4 players picked, but the other five teams in the bottom six had just 2 players picked between (DCE and Tino)
- If Nicho Hynes doesn't take the field in this series, it would make 4 years in a row for the Sharks without having an origin player.
- if he doesn't play in game 1, it would also make 3 of the last 4 seasons where Cronulla was in the top 8 but did not have a player selected for the opening match. In that 4 years, only one other teams have ever been in the 8 when the game 1 sides were picked and not had a player selected (Eels in 2019).
2018 the Sharks had one player in game 1. Holmes.
So basically... team success = players picked in origin, unless you are Newcastle or Cronulla.