Laurie Daley knows from experience that a win in a State of Origin opener at Suncorp Stadium does not guarantee a series victory.
In 2017, the Blues smashed Queensland 28-4 in game one, with Andrew Fifita producing a front-row masterclass, only for the Blues to lose game two in Sydney, then the decider back in Brisbane, before Daley lost his job.
“You need to enjoy the win – any time you win up here, and any time you win game one, it’s good, but I know they’ll be better – and we have to be better,” Daley said on Wednesday night.
The Blues beat the Maroons 18-6, but left plenty of points on the park and never quite hit top gear. Here are five areas where Daley’s men will need to improve time for the June 18 game two clash in Perth.
Early ball for Trell
Latrell Mitchell and Stephen Crichton are two of the biggest and most destructive centres in the game, but they saw little of the ball early in the game. The Blues had plenty of possession and field position, but were content to complete their sets rather than go after the game and unleash their outside backs.
NSW did a good job rolling through the middle and tiring Harry Grant, the Maroons hooker who was severely under-done in terms of fitness.
But the moment the Blues did get the ball into Mitchell’s hands, he somehow hung in the air and passed it to Brian To’o in one motion for the winger to score. Mitchell was excellent defensively, but NSW need to find a way to get him more involved with the attack.
On the few occasions Queensland gave their outside men early ball in the first half, they troubled the Blues’ left-side defence.
Better passing, catching
The Blues’ passing game was a little off on Wednesday night, with half a dozen balls either hitting the deck or going behind players and forcing them to stop and go to ground.
Hudson Young and Nathan Cleary had passes go to ground in the second half after they had done all the hard work. Had they kept possession, and been able to build more pressure, the scoreboard would have kept ticking over.
To’o and Dylan Edwards also spilled a few high kicks, which put the Blues under pressure. To’o’s dropped ball right on half-time gifted the Maroons one last attacking set before he was binned for grabbing Xavier Coates in the air.
The Penrith pair can expect to receive more high ball in Perth after the Queenslanders complete their review.
More attacking kicks for Lomax
Cleary tried a few times, but struggled to hit the mark for attacking weapon Zac Lomax on the right wing. Lomax’s aerial ability was there for all to see when he dragged in a Cleary kick with one hand for Edwards’ last try.
Had Cleary been able to put a few more revolutions on his kicks, Lomax would have had more time to get in position and leap. One kick in the first half saw Lomax run past the ball, while on another occasion in the second half, the ball travelled too low and too deep.
A Mitchell Moses kick early in the second half gave Queensland a seven-tackle set, and they had all the momentum for the next 20 minutes.
Adjusting to officiating
At the post-match press conference, Daley pointed out how well Queensland had done to slow down the ruck.
He later said he had no issues with referee Ashley Klein, but that the Blues knew they would have to react better if the Maroons were allowed to continue holding down players and placing their hands on the ball in game two.
Referees Gerard Sutton and Peter Gough were brought into camp for game one, and their presence is always a reminder to the elite players how long thy can pin a rival on the ground before giving away a penalty.
Fitter Four
Payne Haas and Crichton came into the game with concerns over their quads, while Lomax and To’o had played just one club game each after returning from foot and hamstring injuries respectively.
That quartet will only improve with another three weeks of training, games and recovery under their belts. To be fair to Queensland, Grant will also be much fitter in Perth.
Haas, who is fast becoming the best prop in the game, often received the ball a little wider and was able to get at Cherry-Evans and Cam Munster with ease.
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