NSW captain Paul Gallen has been ruled out of Wednesday's State of Origin series decider because of his foot injury.
The loss of their inspirational skipper is a huge blow to the Blues' hopes of ending seven straight years of Queensland dominance in the series in the ANZ Stadium clash.
Wests Tigers prop Aaron Woods will take Gallen's place in the side while hooker Robbie Farah will take over the captaincy.
Gallen failed a fitness test when he ran on his injured foot for the first time at training on Friday morning.
He was still experiencing soreness from the problem sustained in the Origin game two loss in Brisbane.
NSW coach Laurie Daley called a team huddle at training where he broke the news to his players and Woods was hugged and high-fived by his Blues teammates following his promotion.
