Michael Chammas is a sports reporter with The Sydney Morning Herald
NSW wrecking ball Andrew Fifita insists he wasn't able to replicate his game one heroics in the second game of the series because his Blues teammates didn't give him enough ball.
Manly fullback Tom Trbojevic has backed the NRL's decision not to change the rules in relation to mid-air tackles despite initial fears his season was over following an ugly collision against Brisbane six weeks ago.
No Johnathan Thurston, no hope. That was certainly the case in game one when the Blues humiliated the Maroons in their own backyard to take a 1-0 series lead.
Johnathan Thurston will be robbed of his State of Origin farewell with a shoulder injury set to rule the Maroons No.6 out of next month's decider and potentially the rest of the season.
NSW prop Andrew Fifita believes relocating from The Star to Kingscliff will provide the Blues with the ideal launching pad into the Origin decider.
The NSW Blues say they were left dumbfounded by some of the decisions made by the referees in Origin II, accusing the officials of treating the Maroons as "protected species".
NSW prop Andrew Fifita has revealed a verbal tirade from the Queenslanders after full-time will be stored in the memory bank as motivation as the Blues head to Suncorp Stadium for a decider.
Just when it looked like Mitchell Pearce would get his day in the sun, Johnathan Thurston does it again.
Wayne Pearce is reluctant to talk about his son. Always has been. He didn't want to do it before Origin I, and didn't want to do it in the aftermath of the comprehensive win at Suncorp Stadium three weeks ago.
Blues coach Laurie Daley has labelled this year's NSW team better than the 2014 drought breakers but insists "we've done nothing yet".
Search pagination
Save articles for later.
Subscribe for unlimited access to news. Login to save articles.
Return to the homepage by clicking on the site logo.