The Game One moments that give the Blues confidence for Game Two

Despite going down 38-10 with a man sent off in the Origin opener, a closer look at the Blues performance shows some positives that coach Michael Maguire will want to harness in Game Two.

New South Wales face an uphill battle if they're to beat the Maroons twice away from home – a feat only done once in 1994 when they went on to win in Melbourne and Brisbane over the final two games, the same schedule as 2024.

Maguire spoke post-game about the effort and bravery shown by his side in Game One and how, despite losing the contest, the Blues have “really shifted the dime on where they see and how hard they want to work for the jersey.”

The shift started with the team list, one selected based on form and reliability.

But their approach on the field also looked very different from previous years, too.

They were made to work a lot harder than expected once Joseph Sua’ali’i was sent off in the seventh minute and while the Blues fought on and hung in the fight longer than expected, the scoreline reflected the pressure they were put under.

If we start with the eight minutes the Blues played at full strength, we begin to understand how they planned to play.

Sua’ali’i himself charged straight at Tom Dearden off a tap in the third minute, knocking the diminutive half to the ground and forcing the two Queensland defenders on either side of him to join the tackle.

Playing the ball to the middle via Jake Trbojevic, Cameron McInnes then played Payne Haas onto Daly Cherry-Evans. Again, the Blues generated a quick play-the-ball and used it to shift wide, earning a nice look on the right side as James Tedesco tested the space around Dearden. One more Trbojevic charge to the middle, this time at Ben Hunt, ended with the Blues captain on his elbows and knees, with Nicho Hynes given time to roll one in behind the Maroons' line.

Hynes’ kick was a poor one, but the full set provided some insight into how New South Wales planned to play with the ball.

That was the last set they played with 13 men and it's understandably difficult to read how the Blues approach the game as positions, roles and rotations changed.

But Maguire and Trbojevic both eluded to “playing a longer game” during the post-match press conference to provide some indication of what is real and what’s not about the 80 minutes. Settling in for the grind and working hard early to win it late isn’t the first thing you think about when it comes to New South Wales.

Still, despite the changes, the Blues seemed to stick with the pre-match game plan, for better or worse at times, and it speaks to the belief and effort they’re willing to put in as a group and provides a fairly clear idea of what to expect in Game 2.

Maguire mentioned that the Blues “came out in the second half and did exactly what we planned.” That plan: Roll up the field through Queensland’s smaller players with their size and mobility and kick to the corner.

That, and be prepared to do it over and over again.

Cherry-Evans and Dearden combined for 54 tackles in the series opener.

Angus Crichton and Liam Martin—two of the Blues' best—put a bullseye on the Maroons halves and targeted them in the line all night, as they no doubt will in Game Two.

Ben Hunt, Harry Grant, and Reuben Cotter saw plenty of traffic through the middle, too. It’s an approach that proved successful despite not translating into points.

Crichton, Martin, Payne Haas, and Haumole Olakau’atu, Cameron McInnes and Spencer Leniu off the bench were able to generate momentum using a strong carry and quick play-the-ball down one edge to attack the other.

It led to some confidence-building looks for the Blues.

In the sequence below, Olakau’atu carried the ball straight at Grant to generate a quick play-the-ball, which led to Zac Lomax running down the sideline and a forcing a dropout late in the first half. The key was Hynes being able to get at Dearden in the line, despite Queensland having the man advantage.

However, the plan didn’t seem to adjust to the circumstances. Which, to some extend, is explainable, as  it's difficult enough to attack with a man down.

Taking opportunities becomes crucial, and Hynes missed a handful in the name of the game plan – perhaps speaking to why Mitchell Moses and his ability to read more of what's on show in front of him will be wearing the seven for Game Two.

At the back end of the first half, a destructive Crichton carry, again at a smaller Maroons defender, generated the ruck speed for Isaah Yeo to poke his head through on the following play. He found space around a tiring Cotter and Pat Carrigan to give the Blues right edge a rare opportunity to attack.

Hynes, at his best, skips across the A defender with a lead inside the two-man to create an opportunity down the sideline. On this occasion, however, with the attacking cue outside him, he turns the ball back inside to set up for a corner kick.

It’s an opportunity missed, but it’s a look the Blues will be happy with and one that came courtesy of the game plan.

Efforts under fatigue will be another highlight and reason for optimism in Game Two. Reece Robson came up with a fantastic try-saver on Jeremiah Nanai in the 58th minute. He managed to check Grant at dummy half, move up off the line, and track back to desperately punch the ball out of Nanai’s hands.

Few would have noticed had he clocked off 10 metres away from the ball.

Soon after, Brian To’o found gas in the tank to follow Selwyn Cobbo into the backfield to force a pass before collecting Valentine Holmes’ ankles in a try-saver. 

But as Maguire said post-game,“ Playing with a man down, you’ve got to burry the opposition into the corners, and fatigue finds you at some stage.”

At 20-10 behind with 14 minutes to play, right as To’o saved a try, the Blues defence couldn’t recover quickly enough to help their teammate out. Fatigue found the Blues, and the Maroons attack did soon after – running in three tries before full-time to blow the margin out to 28-points in the end.

It’s not often that you can look at a 28-point loss and find positives, but Maguire will have plenty. There was enough there through the middle of the field to be hopeful of a significant improvement in Game Two, the limited attacking opportunities they created will have the Blues coaching staff optimistic, and the effort or "one-percenters" speak to a willingness to work for the jersey.

The personnel will be different. Moses is a more natural halfback with a superior kicking game, whose boot plays further into Maguire's suffocating plan.

As too does Latrell Mitchell, who has averaged 288 kicking metres in the last three games that the Rabbitohs have won. In their first five games of the season – where they won just once – he averaged 28 kicking metres.

So if the Blues are at full strength for the 80 minutes in Game Two, take a similar approach to getting into a grind and generate the same looks with the ball they did in Game One, there's every chance we could yet get to a decider at Suncorp.

Maguire will certainly think so.