NSW will be driven by a dozen years of Queensland dominance as they try to flip the script and complete the most emphatic State of Origin series win of all time.
The Blues have the chance to pull off their first whitewash in 21 years on Wednesday night, with COVID-19 offering them the rare opportunity to win all three games on Queensland soil.
A win by 29 points or more will also make it the most lopsided series in history, with Queensland having never inflicted consistent floggings like this.
But it is the prospect of a whitewash that the Blues want most.
So rare are they that even Queensland managed just one during their glory years between 2006 and 2017 when they won 11 out of 12 series.
NSW captain James Tedesco spoke of his own disappointment during that period on Tuesday, not seeing a series win between his 13th and 21st birthdays.
Almost every other player has similar stories, with Brian To’o going from Year 2 to high school graduation with just one series victory.
Coach Brad Fittler also watched on as a trainer, assistant coach and commentator, before getting his own shot in 2018.
“Absolutely (it drives us). I know people might think it doesn’t matter (tomorrow night),” Fittler said.
“But it’s what we do when it doesn’t matter that counts.”
Fittler spent the latter half of Queensland’s dominance leading his Hogs For Homeless bike tour around country NSW towns, surveying Blues fans on what had to change.
When he took over as coach he swore to stay true to that, suffering just one shock series loss since.
“Our whole intention was to end up with a team that NSW kids looked up to and they were their role models,” Fittler said.
“That comes from not just performing on the field but also off the field. I think players have now got the opportunity to be that person.
“They get to change lives and do great things if they choose to.
“That was the intention eight years ago and we’re only just starting to get there now.”
The flipping of the script is also more than just a possible 3-0 series ledger.
Queensland are in crisis with coach Paul Green under pressure to keep his job and questions over Daly Cherry-Evans’ captaincy.
Jai Arrow’s bubble-breach summed up Queensland’s series, with the Maroons forward kicked out of camp just weeks after Green lost another player to an eligibility error.
It all screams of the issues NSW regularly faced between 2006 and 2017, as they regularly shuffled through coaches.
“It was a pretty disappointing era at school and I remember some of my mates changed and went for Queensland just because they were winning all the time,” Tedesco said.
“That was a big thing for Freddy when he came in 2018 was getting that pride back in the jersey and getting everyone in NSW supporting us.
“The past four or five years that has changed and there’s a lot of local support.”
AAP
Read more:
