Queensland and NSW players will wear black armbands in Wednesday night's State of Origin as a mark of respect for former player Sam Faust who lost his battle with cancer on Monday.

The former St George Illawarra and North Queensland forward, who leaves behind a wife and three young children, was just 26.

Queensland coach Mal Meninga said many of his players, including halfback Johnathan Thurston, were close to Faust who played 24 NRL games for the Cowboys in 2007-08.

"We all want to pay out respects to the Faust family for the sad loss of young Sam just recently," Meninga told reporters on Tuesday.

"A lot of the players in the Queensland side were quite close to Sam and his family.

"We pass on our sincere condolences and we'll be paying our respects to young Sam tomorrow night."

NSW hooker Michael Ennis, a team-mate of Faust's at St George Illawarra in 2005, had launched an online auction in the hope of raising $500,000 so he could receive leukaemia treatment in the US.

The ARL has agreed to a request for the players to wear black armbands and will have a minute's silence before the game.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP