For the 11th time in twelve years, New South Wales have been left to carry out their post-mortem into yet another State of Origin series defeat.
The shield will stay north of the Tweed for another 12 months, after the Maroons defeated the Blues 22-6 in the third and deciding game at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night.
Making the series victory all the more impressive was the fact that they were without Johnathan Thurston for both matches in Brisbane, while Greg Inglis and Matt Scott missed all three matches, and Darius Boyd was absent for the decider.
We’ll get back to the Maroons shortly, but to the one question everyone in Australia’s most populous state wants answered: where did it all go so wrong?
Many believed after the Blues thrashed the Maroons 28-4 in the opening game, they would be able to claim just their second series win since 2005.
Much-maligned halfback Mitchell Pearce played the match of his career before being knocked out in the second half, while Andrew Fifita terrorised his Maroons counterparts up forward.
However, Queensland were missing their greatest player, Thurston, for the first time since 2004, while Anthony Milford was exposed on debut.
Laurie Daley decided to stick with the same 17 for the second game in Sydney, believing that they could get the job done in front of their home fans, as they did in 2014.
But after leading 16-6 at halftime of the second game, the Blues played to defend their lead rather than going for the kill.
With less than ten minutes remaining, Jarryd Hayne dropped a pass from Mitchell Pearce on the halfway line, and the Maroons regathered possession deep in their attacking zone. Winger Dane Gagai scored the match-levelling try shortly after, and Johnathan Thurston, in what will very likely be his final act in an Origin match, converted to give the Maroons an 18-16 victory.
AAP Image/Dan Peled
Origin great Andrew Johns accused the Blues of playing “dumb football” and not targeting Thurston when he had suffered a shoulder injury.
Looking back now, it’s fair to say that the Blues dropped the Origin shield the moment Hayne knocked on with victory within reach.
Coach Laurie Daley put his faith in the same 17 for the deciding match, and gambled on playing captain Boyd Cordner, who had been in doubt with a calf injury.
History was against them, as they’d only ever won two deciding matches at Suncorp Stadium and not since 2005. They’d also been thrashed 52-6 in the deciding game two years ago, with several of the players who lined up for the Blues on Wednesday night still feeling the psychological effects of that humiliation.
A repeat looked on the cards when NSW trailed 12-0 at halftime, and while they pegged back a try ten minutes into the second half, they eventually went down 22-6.
Given the injuries to several key Maroons players, the Blues had a genuine chance to claim the series, especially after defeating Queensland so easily in their own backyard in Game 1.
But unlike 2014, when they eventually wrapped up the series in front of their home fans, this time they crumbled under the weight of expectation, their poor decision-making under pressure being brutally punished.
Wednesday night’s defeat also marked the fourth time since 2005 that the Blues had lost the series after winning the first game, as was the case in 2006, 2008 and 2013. In each of those three years, they lost the decider by a narrow margin after being thrashed in the second game in Brisbane.
The defeat also saw the Blues join the class of 1987 in losing a series after winning the opening game in Brisbane.
AAP Image/Glenn Hunt
After losing his fourth series in charge, speculation is rife that Daley will go. Whether he walks or is pushed out by the board remains to be seen.
However, the players have publicly backed him to stay on as he continues his quest to bring down the Maroons, with Cordner saying the players should be to blame.
The last coach to be sacked was Craig Bellamy, in 2010, after the Blues had suffered their first whitewash since 1995. Prior to that, the late Graham Murray left on his own accord after two series defeats, in 2007.
But who would replace Daley?
Origin great Andrew Johns entertained the idea of coaching the state on Channel Nine’s post-match analysis, while another Blues great, Brad Fittler, could also come into consideration.
With coaching experience in the NRL, as well as being coach of the now-defunct City Origin side, Fittler appears more favoured. He may not have had the best coaching record while at the helm of the Sydney Roosters between 2007 and 2009 (save for a finals berth in 2008), but there’s no questioning his passion for the state he represented 31 times between 1990 and 2004.
Another topic of discussion will be whether Mitchell Pearce dons the No.7 jumper, which has proven to be a poisoned chalice since Johns’ retirement in 2005, ever again.
Once again, the Roosters halfback will become the target of blame, but he may have found two allies in Daley and club teammate Dylan Napa, who debuted for the Maroons this year.
“I thought he was good, I thought he contributed, did his job. Again, people will have their own opinions on Mitch but he did his job,” Daley said.
“The way the media treat him is ridiculous,” Napa chimed in.
“He’s such an easy bloke to put the blame on. I thought he’s had a really good series. He didn’t kick any out on the full, he made his tackles.
“When we get back to clubland, I’ll be there to support him.”
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