The biggest game in rugby league is entering the second instalment tonight and for the Blues yet again it is a must win as the New South Welshmen desperately try and keep the State of Origin series alive.
What happened last time?
Game one was the same old story for the most part; Queensland dominated the ruck, possession and the moments that counted.
However, the Blues can take a huge amount of belief from the defensive effort that they put up, particularly in the first 30 minutes. This shows they can stick solid when they put their minds to it.
The Blues also found some space and vulnerability on the Queensland right edge, which they were able to exploit twice.
It can be argued that the Queensland halves were quiet, but the New South Wales halves were a new pairing and took a while to find their feet, with Soward extremely quiet in the first 20-30 minutes.
Who’ll win?
Tonight it is all on the line. It is really do or die for the Blues.
If they want to try and (postpone) the Queensland claim to another series win, I believe this is the side that can keep it close.
We won’t see the same lopsided possession as we saw a few weeks ago in Queensland. The refs need to give the Blues a hand, after some shocking calls last time out.
There is a lot of talk about the difference in the forward pack sizes. There is a big difference with the Blues not having as many big men as Queensland, nor the experience of Queensland’s heavy hitters.
It is a selection risk, one that will either be a flop or a massive reward.
Every man and his dog knows the Blues will be looking for their forwards to play fast football but it’s how the forwards approach the defence that will have a huge impact on this game.
The Blues’ forwards need to match it with the Maroons’ forwards and keep them from making easy metres up the middle of the park.
With the weather set in and the track bound to be wet, despite it’s great drainage, this will play into the Blues hands.
Big men don’t turn as fast as a ballet dancer; more like the Titanic.
I expect to see the Blues move the ball around a bit, inside passes are the key, to keep the Queenslanders turning and slipping.
The Blues halves have an extremely important role to play tonight. Soward barely touched the ball first half of game one, which was not good enough for one of the best tactical and positional kickers in the game.
He grew into his role during the game which is promising.
If Soward can keep kicking early in the set, having Slater, Yow Yeh and Boyd chasing and starting sets from deep in their half.
The Blues back line looked more dangerous than the Maroons for the first time for a while last match. The men coming in look to have the potential to keep this rolling, although the Maroons have brought in Greg Inglis and have kept the faith in their line up.
This isn’t where it’ll be won – it’ll be solely decided on the forwards performance. Whoever makes the least mistakes and plays the smartest positional football will be the winner in this one.
The New South Wales Blues will send this to a Game three blockbuster.
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