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Brad Fittler has used 47 players in his five-year tenure in charge of the NSW State of Origin side.

But the Blues coach can't quite remember feeling the same level of clamour that has willed Cronulla playmaker Nicho Hynes into his 17-man squad.

"The media play tricks on you like that, they pick someone who is topical," Fittler told AAP ahead of Wednesday's series opener at Adelaide Oval.

"But what Nicho has been doing is, he has been backing it up every week.

"He's done it every round now for two years so at some stage you go well (you have to pick him)."

Hynes is expected to come off the bench in his Origin debut, the latest step in a rapid rise which has been heavily influenced by Maroons coach Billy Slater.

Hynes, who won last year's Dally M award in his maiden season as a halfback at the Sharks, began his NRL career as a would-be fullback at Melbourne.

"He always sat down with Billy and Craig (Bellamy) and said how he wanted to be better," said former Melbourne teammate and NSW winger Josh Addo-Carr.

"That's why he's where he is."

Hynes was one of a long list of candidates identified as a potential replacement for Slater when he retired in 2018 but has found his truly calling as a running halfback under Craig Fitzgibbon at the Sharks.

But those sessions in Melbourne with Slater have left an indelible mark on Hynes' vision, one which he hopes can help give the Blues a 1-0 advantage in the series.

"Billy is a great coach and he knows every minor detail of the game and how to get players up," Hynes told AAP.

"I can't speak highly enough of Billy ... people will ask why I'm talking him up so much when I'm meant to hate him. But I love Billy.

"But I'll do anything to beat him right now and it's the same for him, he's the most competitive person I've ever met.

"He's a massive reason why I've got to where I am in my career. Hopefully we can do something to surprise him because he did so well coaching against us last year."

Hynes has left no stone unturned in his pursuit to get to this level and as well as crediting Slater and Fitzgibbon, he pinpoints a decision to hire a mindset coach for his calm on-field approach.

It's why the 26-year-old, whose NRL career is only 69 games old, isn't fussed about the prospect of having to see game-time out of position at hooker on Wednesday if it means an instant impact in his Origin debut.

"I played a bit when I was younger but I feel my footy smarts are enough to know how to play the role and do a job if needed," Hynes said.

"I'll get the shoulder pads on and even though I'm a bit taller and the back will be sore, if I get thrown there I'll be prepared."

© AAP 2023

Law enforcement officials in Thailand say they have seized more than a tonne of methamphetamine they believe was bound for Australia.

Officials from police and the Narcotics Control Board announced the 1.2 tonnes of the drug, also known as "ice", likely came from Thailand's northern border region, which is part of the Golden Triangle where the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet.

The methamphetamine seized last Wednesday in Songkhla province was disguised as packages of tea.

Officials announced at a news conference on Monday the three suspects believed to be transporting the drug had escaped, making it hard to know the traffickers' plans.

Wichai Chaimongkol, the secretary general of the Narcotics Control Board, said authorities had hoped to track the drugs to their destination in Australia in order to arrest higher-ranking members of the trafficking gang, but the three suspected smugglers in Songkhla became aware they were being watched.

Thai officials believe the drugs, hidden in a house and two utes, were to be smuggled to Australia by sea, said Wichai.

Drugs that were seized in recent raids, including in Bangkok in March and April, also were supposedly bound for Australia.

In November last year, Thai narcotics officials said in the past year they had intercepted drugs bound for Australia 22 times disguised in various forms, one of which involved pillow cases that were coated with methamphetamine.

© AP 2023

Australia's Race Discrimination Commissioner Chin Tan has warned against creating a racially charged debate over the Indigenous voice to parliament.

The call for civility came as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese received a standing ovation after he delivered the Lowitja O'Donoghue Oration in Adelaide on Monday night.

Mr Albanese took aim at opponents of the voice and reaffirmed his confidence that the referendum would succeed.

But Mr Tan said it was important the debate did not descend into one of race.

"The voice is not about race, it's about participation, equity ... elevating the position of First Nations people," he told the ABC.

"It's about a ... journey we've travelled for a long time in this country, about finding a way out and moving forward to support our Indigenous peoples."

In his keynote speech, Mr Albanese said the voice was not a proposal that had been rushed and there had been no shortcuts.

"The reverse is the case. This has been a grassroots movement, the culmination of years of discussion, consultation and patient hard work by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people themselves," he said.

The prime minister called out "doomsayers" who promoted scare campaigns and underestimated Australians "so radically".

"Australians won't succumb to their appeals to fear and their ever more ludicrous invitations to jump at our own shadows," he said.

"That's because Australians have a healthy scepticism of doomsayers, a scepticism kept in good health by memories of all the predictions offered by the Chicken Littles of the past."

The latest polls show support for the voice has dropped to a slight majority, with the 'no' case on track to win if the trend doesn't change.

The voice legislation is expected to be voted on in the lower house this week, before it heads to the Senate.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who last week described the voice as Orwellian, also called for a respectful debate.

"The prime minister (is) out there name-calling people and others suggesting that people are racist because they don't support the voice, it's completely and utterly unacceptable," he said in Victoria.

Indigenous leader and prominent advocate for a 'no' vote, Warren Mundine, said the debate was starting to become "really disgraceful".

"This referendum is dividing Australia and you see it in the polling, and you see it out in the community," he told the ABC.

But Mr Albanese said 'no' case proponents were peddling a 'great lie' by saying the proposed amendment would put race in the constitution.

He said opponents "know full well" that race has been in the constitution since Federation.

"These arguments are also galling because, unlike some existing provisions in the constitution, the voice amendment does not refer to race at all," he said.

"As the text of the amendment makes clear: Australians will be asked to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia, not as a race."

Prominent 'yes' campaigner Noel Pearson has warned a rejection of the voice would put an end to reconciliation in Australia.

The referendum is expected to be held between October and November this year.

Independent senator Lidia Thorpe said the voice did not have enough power to be effective.

"In 1967, more than 90 per cent of people voted yes in the referendum to include First Nations mob in the constitution, but what difference did it actually make to Blak lives," she wrote on Twitter.

Nationals Leader David Littleproud said his party had a culture of allowing divergent views, and respected Liberal MPs who supported the voice.

© AAP 2023