The red-hot Blues produced their biggest winning margin in Origin history in a game one avalanche leaving the injury-hit Queenslanders with a mountain to climb to get back into the series at their Suncorp Stadium fortress this Sunday.
With centre duo Tom Trbojevic and Latrell Mitchell running amok, and Origin debutants Jarome Luai and Brian To’o putting their stamp on the interstate contest in memorable fashion, the Blues were unstoppable in racking up a 50-6 win in game one.
The Maroons had a host of players unavailable or underdone in the series opener and have just as many headaches this time around with both forced and unforced changes in their squad and with a short build-up to try and get things right for gamed two.
Hooker and fullback have been their hardest-hit positions with Harry Grant (hamstring) joining Reed Mahoney and the retired Jake Friend on the unavailable list while Kalyn Ponga and AJ Brimson are both out of contention for the fullback spot.
