The decision to bring in two new faces to replace the Morris twins means that a forward has to make way for Greg Bird, who was unavailable for Origin I through suspension, and either Trent Merrin or Tony Williams are tipped to be the unlucky player omitted in the only unforced change to the squad.

Daley had planned to pick Gallen in the front row for Origin I until Bird was suspended and Roosters international Boyd Cordner ruled out with a knee injury. Gallen started the match at lock but played like a front-rower, making more runs (22) and more metres (170m) than any forward on either team.

According to a statistical breakdown of Gallen's performance by SportsData, 20 of Gallen's runs were hit-ups and he made 160m from his charges with the ball. The Sharks skipper also led the way for metres after contact (43m) among the NSW and Queensland forwards, and made two tackle breaks, offloading both times.

Without the ball, Gallen made eight supporting runs and five decoy runs in a 70-minute effort, in which he also completed 33 tackles. With Gallen to start in the front row, Australian prop James Tamou is likely to shift to the interchange bench as he did in last month's trans-Tasman Test against New Zealand.

The Blues side will be announced at a corporate lunch at ANZ Stadium on Tuesday but Fairfax Media understands Tamou will join Lewis, Anthony Watmough and Merrin or Williams on the interchange bench. Merrin made 40m from seven hit-ups in Origin I and had another seven supporting or decoy runs, while completing 18 tackles in his 34 minutes of action.