Just 10 hours out from making his State of Origin debut, Ronaldo Mulitalo has been ruled ineligible for Queensland

The decision comes after New South Wales hierarchy were alerted to a story about the Sharks winger written in 2019, in which he's reported to have moved to Australia from New Zealand in October 2013.

Eligibility rules state a player must be born in either state or reside there before their 13th birthday.

Mulitalo would've been 14.

It leaves the Maroons scrambling to find a replacement for him, as he'd already been called-in after Warriors fullback Reece Walsh was ruled out with a hamstring injury.

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