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State of Origin 2017: The emotional letters that inspired NSW to victory

The NSW Blues have revealed the inspiration behind their emphatic Origin I victory, admitting they used the motivation of emotional letters from family members to fuel their performance.

Envelopes placed on the jerseys of all 17 NSW players contained inspirational messages that, according to man of the match Andrew Fifita, sparked their win against Queensland on Wednesday night.

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Andrew Fifita was at his rampaging best in a man of the match performance in Brisbane.

"I wasn't going to open it. I just thought it was from the NSW chairman," Fifita said.

"I thought it was just another one of those letters again. But then five minutes before we started training I quickly opened it and I saw what it was. It was my wife telling me that she loves me and that my kids love me.

"It was great input from the NSWRL to do that. It really made me that happy that I quickly messaged her and said thank you for it."

Fifita's wife is due to give birth to the couple's third child around Origin III, so she wasn't in the stands to witness her husband's finest hour.

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The Cronulla wrecking ball admitted her absence only strengthened his emotions, which came to the fore when he read the letter that had been organised by the NSWRL.

"I sent my missus some flowers [before the game] because I appreciate everything she's done for me off the field," Fifita said.

"She couldn't make it up here because she's heavily pregnant and couldn't fly. I sent her flowers just to say I'm thinking of her. The way the world works, I get this letter from her and it was an awesome gesture from NSW. It really sparked things.

"I literally opened it five minutes before we started training. I was brushing it for ages. I just saw the envelope. It was just inspiring. Just to know who we're playing for and the people back home. She wasn't here and it made me think even more about her."

Despite the well-received gesture from the NSWRL, there was one player who wasn't even aware of the contents of the envelope.

"I forgot to open it," Jarryd Hayne said.

"I saw it but I didn't open it. I was in the zone."

Debutants Nathan Peats and Jake Trbojevic were presented their NSW jerseys by family members before the game.

Trbojevic also had three letters waiting for him at his locker.

There was one from mum and dad, my brothers wrote one and Nan wrote one," the Manly forward said.

"Whoever thought of it, that was a great idea. Everyone had this letter, so I opened it. Your parents do a lot for you growing up, so to see how proud they are of you was pretty special. My brothers were just carrying on."

Trbojevic's NSW and Australian teammate, Aaron Woods, has had a tumultuous season dealing with a drawn-out contract saga.

He says the support of the three women closest to him helped him through the emotionally draining period of his career.

"I've had a tough couple of months with the Tigers, and my biggest supporters have been my missus, my mum and my sister," Woods said.

"To get a letter from them, it meant a lot to me. I love what Laurie [Daley, coach] does behind the scenes. It was a bit emotional before the game, especially seeing [Nathan Peats] getting his jersey before the game in front of his mum."