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 Blues were virtually unaffected by Queensland closing its borders to residents from Sydney’s COVID-19 hotspots and continued Origin camp in Kingscliff on the northern NSW.
The NSW squad headed north on Monday and was COVID tested before entering camp.
The team has already been to the Gold Coast, where they completed border declaration forms.
Anaconda Fish of Origin – Episode II
The Blues moved to Queensland on Friday leading into game two on Sunday at Suncorp Stadium.
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 game 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.
Reece Walsh was handed a debut in the No.1 jersey after just seven NRL games but the youngster was forced to withdraw the day before the game after injuring his hamstring at training.
