Latrell Mitchell ruled out of State of Origin with Stephen Crichton set ...

New South Wales centre Latrell Mitchell will miss the Blues' must-win State of Origin showdown at Lang Park with a calf injury — the same injury that ruled him out of the series opener.

Key points:Latrell Mitchell missed Origin One with the same injuryPenrith's Stephen Crichton will replace him for the second straight gameMitchell missed the 2020 and 2022 series, which were both won by the Maroons

After losing to the Maroons in Adelaide two weeks ago, the Blues need to win the second game away from home to keep the series alive.

Mitchell's return to the backline was supposed to be a big part of NSW's efforts to square the ledger, but he has been cut down by the same injury that saw him miss the opening match and every Souths game since round 12.

Mitchell has been a dominant force at Origin level since making his debut back in 2018 and his centre combination with Tom Trbojevic yielded eight tries across three games in 2021.

But both were absent for the entirety of the 2020 and 2022 series that Queensland won.

Penrith's Stephen Crichton has been called into the starting centre role once again, with Canterbury's Matt Burton now 18th man.

Crichton scored a try that gave the Blues the lead in the 66th minute of Game One, but Queensland hit back with two tries in the final minutes to snatch a famous victory and leave NSW on the precipice of their third series loss in the past four years.