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NSW coach Brad Fittler and skipper Boyd Cordner are well aware the cauldron of Suncorp tonight won’t be the only obstacle to a State of Origin whitewash.
It will be the oldest man on the paddock, Billy Slater at 35, with the best football brain.
In what will be his swansong and 31st Origin, the brilliant fullback has lost a bit of his electric pace with the sands of time, but his leadership and reading of the game will make him very dangerous.
Origin series whitewashes are rare with only five in 37 – Queensland 1988, 1995, and 2010, and NSW in 1996 and 2000.
And there’s so much pride in the maroon jersey, their first target tonight will be to avoid another cleansweep at all costs.
Slater is the only one of the big five left that have dominated Origin for over a decade – Cameron Smith, Johnathon Thurston, and Cooper Cronk have retired, Greg Inglis has a broken thumb.
A formula set up for Billy the Kid to turn in a blinder.
Billy Slater (AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Just how good is he?
Many have described him as the greatest fullback of all time, but they obviously never saw Clive Churchill and Graeme Langlands play.
All three can rightfully be tagged magnificent. In time, the talented trio will all be Immortals – Churchill and Langlands are already inducted,
Churchill was a mighty mouse at Souths, standing 175cms tall, and tipping the scales dripping wet at 75kgs.
But he was devastating in both attack and defence from 1947 to 1958, in the unlimited tackle era, playing 157 games for the Rabbitohs, 27 for NSW, and 37 in the gold V.
Langlands played in the history-making St George era, winning 11 successive premierships, and the eras of unlimited tackles, four tackles from 1967, and six from 1971.
He chalked up 227 games for the Saints, 33 for NSW, and a record 45 for Australia in accumulating a tick over 1900 points.
In my interviews with Bobby Fulton and Artie Beetson in the Green and Gold Greats series on ABC NewsRadio, both described Langlands as the greatest they ever played with, or against.
There could be no bigger endorsement.
Langlands was devastating in both attack and defence in teams that fairly bristled with talent. He was worth the cost of admission alone, and he rarely disappointed.
AAP Image/Guy Wilmott
To put Slater in the Churchill and Langlands bracket is the highest possible recommendation.
But Slater’s overall on-field talent can be broken down into his try-scoring talent alone.
He sits second among the NRL career try-scorers to the greatest winger of all-time in both codes Ken Irvine – 187 to 212.
They share the time element – Irvine played for 15 years from 1958 to 1973. Slater’s in his 15th and likely last season.
To prove how brilliant Irvine was, he scored 171 tries in just 176 games for Norths in a team that found a new way to lose every other week. Seeking premierships, he switched to Manly, where he crossed for 41 tries in 60 games – all up 212 in 236.
Throw in 30 tries for NSW in just 24 games, and 33 for Australia in 33 – and his career total was 275 from 291.
Slater’s 187 for the Storm has taken 310 games, plus 12 for Queensland in 30 Origins, and 27 for the Kangaroos in 30 – his total is 226 from 370.
He will be among many speed merchants at Suncorp Stadium tonight, captaining Valentine Holmes, Dane Gagai, Corey Oates, Will Chambers, and Cameron Munster.
In blue will be expressmen Josh Addo-Carr, James Roberts, James Tedesco, Latrell Mitchell, and Tom Trbojevic.
But all eyes will be on Billy the Kid.