Not since the days of the great Queensland dynasty have NSW been at longer odds than they are to triumph in Wednesday night’s do-or-die State of Origin clash in Brisbane.
But the Blues have no interest in following Queensland’s lead by weaponising their underdog status, only in taking their one chance to right the wrongs from Game I.
Since the siren sounded on the series opener three weeks ago, pressure has been mounting on coach Brad Fittler and his Blues.
Influential players Latrell Mitchell, Nathan Cleary and Api Koroisau have all gone down with injuries. NSW have won only three of their last 12 games at Suncorp Stadium. Fittler’s coaching job is hanging in the balance.
It’s left the Blues in unfamiliar territory. They are $2.90 outsiders to level the series.
Since current Queensland coach Billy Slater – the last member of the so-called big four – shuffled off the Maroons playing squad, NSW’s northern rivals have claimed the underdog tag.
The’ve parlayed that against-the-odds spirit into victory in two of the last three series, most memorably in 2020, when a Maroons side derided by some Sydney media as the worst in their Origin history managed to snatch the shield.
After the Game I fightback win this year, Slater waxed lyrical about overcoming the odds as a kind of Queensland survival instinct, instilled by drought, cyclones and floods.
But now that the shoe is on the other foot, the Blues will not seek to profit from their outsider status.
According to captain James Tedesco, there is too much else on their plates.
“No matter if we’re favourites or underdogs, we still prepare the same way for every game,” he said.
“We know it’s going to be very hostile, there’s going to be a lot of things going against us but we have to stay strong as a team.
“After losing a game, our intensity and everything we do goes up a level.
“It’s just about if you think you’ve done everything, do a bit more.
“Whether that’s physical or mental or everything in and around training, you just have to tick every box and more because there’s no second chances.”
Second-rower Tyson Frizell said no one inside the Blues’ camp believed they were underdogs.
“It’s all the outside noise that doesn’t give us an opportunity,” he told AAP.
“There’s probably a lot of NSW people too that probably don’t think that we have a chance at all.
“But at the end of the day it’s only the 17 players that step on the field that are able to change that.”
Fittler has already acknowledged losing the game in Brisbane would bring about the end of his tenure as coach.
The Blues are not yet considering whether a second consecutive series defeat could trigger changes on the field as well.
“We’ll go up there and hopefully get a win, then that won’t be a factor,” said centre Tom Trbojevic.
“We deserve to put a performance in for him (Fittler).
“He’s been awesome to play under and I’m sure it’d mean everything to him. That’s what we’re preparing to do.”
