The only time Wade Graham has watched State of Origin at ANZ Stadium he didn't make it to full-time. Sitting in the outer – where else would a boy from Blacktown feel more at home? – with his dad Mark and fleeing after Johnathan Thurston put on a Queensland clinic. Again.

The Grahams will be back on Wednesday week. The father among the punters again. The son this time walking up the tunnel and straight into an Origin furnace against Thurston, the man partly responsible for a false dawn on Graham's Origin career.

The former Blues ballboy is sick of watching Origin. First on the sidelines as his heroes strutted their stuff and he galloped up and down the chalk. Then in the crowd. And from the bench after suspension ruled him out of Origin II for a high hit on Thurston.

It is why the relief was heard just as much on the other end of the phone when he called Mark to tell him of an Origin reprieve on Sunday night.

"Your family ride the same emotions as you do – probably more," Graham said after being one of five Sharks players to be drafted into Laurie Daley's squad. "They know how much it means to me. They know how much it would have hurt me. And when your kid is struggling they probably ride it harder than anyone.

"They're just super proud and I'm just grateful I can get them all here in Sydney for the first game."

Graham's first game was supposed to be in Brisbane. Alongside another Sharks debutant in Jack Bird, whose cameo was so impressive Daley wouldn't dare overlook him for Origin III. Graham is "filthy" he couldn't be there for Bird's first, but ecstatic he will be there for Paul Gallen's last.

"He [Gallen] has been a big influence on my career," Graham said. "We were talking about it last night and his last game will be my first game. We've been through some tough times and I'm happy to be able to experience it in this arena one time with him before he quits.

"He was a big part of the reason I first came to Cronulla. He's invested in me a little bit too. In the sheds and watching the boys warming up [for Origin II] ... I sat there with Boyd Cordner and that was the toughest bit.

"It took its toll and I came back and probably wasn't at my best against the Warriors due to the [effect] it took on me emotionally. It was a tough period, there's no doubt about that. [But] it's something you've got to face and get on with."

Graham's left edge combination with Sharks five-eighth James Maloney and his former Penrith teammate Michael Jennings helped sway Daley's thinking as he axed Titans veteran Greg Bird for the dead rubber.

Daley refused to concede the move spelled the end of Bird's representative career, but did acknowledge his comments about Graham possibly never having a chance to play Origin after his suspension weren't made in haste.

"It was one of those ones where if you win and everyone plays really well you're probably reluctant to make changes," Daley said. "That's why at the time we didn't know whether he would get another opportunity.

"We want to be as consistent and fair as we possibly can with our selection process. That's the way I operate: have these guys in our system, get them ready and when the time's right they can come in. I know people don't agree with that, but that's my philosophy."

Graham's inclusion alongside Sharks stars Gallen, Maloney, Jack Bird and Andrew Fifita makes it the second year in a row NSW has boasted five players from the one club. The Bulldogs had twins Brett and Josh Morris, Trent Hodkinson, Josh Jackson and David Klemmer in last year's series.