Formerly it was the Maroons who in light of their adversity had the composure to understand that an escape route out of that predicament would eventually present itself.
Those opportunities when they arose were usually taken with calmness and precision but due to their control on the park - upfront and in the halves - the new New South Wales side looked sharper and fought for every inch.
Their speed out of dummyhalf and in the forward confrontation posed a massive problem for Queensland who had the talent to cope but not the passion to go blow for blow against the cockroaches.
Worryingly for Queensland fans, it took their interchange bench and Justin Hodges to bring some dignity to last night's performance.
Their side's legacy has been built on their seven successive State of Origin series wins.
On the evidence of game one, a new (blue) cycle is likely to begin at the duration of game two.
2. State of Origin - Who had the edge?
Props - NSW - Paul Gallen, James Tamou and Andrew Fifita were too big and mobile for the QLD pack who struggled to contain the blues frontrow. Matt Scott didn't get going till late in the second half and David Shillington tried hard but was a non-factor in the forwards contest.
Hooker - NSW - Robbie Farah got the upperhand over his more esteemed counterpart Cameron Smith. He completed 50 tackles and his quick service and darts from dummyhalf had the QLD defence in two minds for the majority of the match. Farah is still ranked second to Smith but last night it was clear who was the number one nine.
Secondrow - NSW - Luke Lewis (172m, one try assist, 30 tackles, five tackle busts) and Ryan Hoffman (99m, 27 tackles) was direct making plenty of easy metres on opposite fringes of the park. When Trent Merrin came off the bench, he didn't take the foot off the pedal and proved difficult to stop, with 3-4 defenders required to take him down.
Lock - NSW - Greg Bird won his battle with Ashley Harrison who didn't make much of an impact. Bird was efficient in 60 minutes with 102m and 27 tackles while Harrison managed just half as many as metres but 24 tackles.
Halves - NSW - If there was ever a game where two of the premier halfbacks in league were average this was it. Jonathan Thurston was crook all week and it showed in his performance, he was sluggish, his kicking game didn't feature and his ability with the ball was shockingly poor. Cooper Cronk took on a lot of the responsibility and it was too much to carry for a side that was playing from within their own half for much of the game. James Maloney and Mitchell Pearce weren't flash but they did enough to direct their side with a superior kicking game.
Centres - NSW - Michael Jennings' brilliant individual try before halftime was the perfect injection of belief for the home side that a victory in game one was probable. Not known for his defence, he had to deal with plenty of traffic to stop down his corridor making 15 tackles. Josh Morris was equally as strong on defence making a brilliant cover tackle on Darius Boyd before halftime to stop a Queensland try.
Wing - QLD - Brent Tate was the oldest outside back on the pitch but he was tireless throughout the game even though at times he was going in reverse (141m, two tackle busts and one line break). Darius Boyd was solid, and he did enough to display that despite club form he is a genuine Origin performer. Blake Ferguson for NSW was pumped for his Origin debut and he charged for 116m.
Fullback - NSW - Jarryd Hayne outperformed Billy Slater with arguably his best performance in Origin in the past two seasons - 178m, six tackle busts and one line break - The Hayne Plane was close to his side's best player.
Bench - QLD - Ben Te'o, Matt Gillet, Chris McQueen and Corey Parker were huge for their Maroons. It wasn't until this lot got onto the pitch that they were able to complete a set of six in the opposition half. They should all be picked for game two with Parker and Gillett to start.
3. State of Origin - Player ratings
NSW QLD
Jarryd Hayne (7) Billy Slater (5)
Blake Ferguson (6) Darius Boyd (6)
Michael Jennings (8) Greg Inglis (4)
Josh Morris (8) Justin Hodges (8, Star player)
Brett Morris (6) Brent Tate (6)
James Maloney (6) Johnathan Thurston (3)
Mitchell Pearce (6) Cooper Cronk (6)
Paul Gallen (8) Matt Scott(5)
Robbie Farah (9) Cameron Smith (5)
James Tamou (7) David Shillington (5)
Luke Lewis (9, Star player) Nate Myles (5)
Ryan Hoffman (8) Sam Thaiday (6)
Greg Bird (8) Ashley Harrison (5)
Int: Anthony Watmough (7) Int: Corey Parker (8)
Trent Merrin (7) Matt Gillett (7)
Andrew Fifita (7) Ben Te'o (7)
Josh Reynolds (4) Chris McQueen (7)
4. Warriors confidence up by Sea Eagles won't be easy
The Warriors outstanding 56-18 win last weekend was a reminder of what sort of damage they can do when their attacking talents are on full show.
Confidence is high in the Warriors club after their record win in Brisbane, Manu Vatuvei, Kevin Locke, Feleti Mateo and Shaun Johnson - the club's supreme players with the ball in hand had their best individual game this season.
Kevin Locke in particular was sublime with a try, three try assists, three line breaks, three tackle busts and 152 attacking metres.
His potential has been evident at the club for a few years and it is performances like the one against the Broncos which may see him stay on at the club beyond this season when his contract expires.
A win is a great confidence booster but even more important is the style or the way in which a side wins can energise the team's morale, that is exactly what the 38 point win did for the Auckland club.
The Broncos were missing many of their top-line players to Origin duty but were also hamstrung by a few odd selections with usual halfback Peter Wallace moved to hooker, Andrew McCullough (hooker) shifted to lock and Ben Hunt who comes off the interchange at hooker starting at halfback.
The Manly Sea Eagles won't make that same mistake and will call upon Anthony Watmough and Daly Cherry Evans who return from being away at State of Origin.
Fourth on the competition ladder and currently ranked as the second best defence the Sea Eagles will provide much stiffer opposition than Monday night's opponents who made the Warriors look far better than the NRL's 14th best team.
5. Your comments
From Ronald Belford Scott
Does anyone know why Ngani Laumape hasnt been sighted in first grade after his brilliant start to the season?
I havent seen any junior Warrior look more assured in their first NRL games but then he disappears from the team. I did see he was 18th man for the Newcastle game and apparently had a blinder for the Vulcans but Hurrell & Peyroux have been named for this week & no Laumape.
He looks a far better centre prospect than Hurrell & Tuimavave but I havent heard anything over why they are being selected ahead of Laumape.
- Agreed, that N Laumape has looked more assured in the NRL than any other outside back prospect this season. He was outstanding in the five games that he featured in the early part of the season. He is confident on the ball and reads the game well on defence, which is the toughest part of the game for rookie outside backs to adjust to. It's becoming quite rare for young players under the age of 20 to play NRL as the National Youth Competition is the testing station before being released to play with men. Although he is still eligible for Under 20's, Laumape has played for the Auckland Vulcans in the NSW Cup, one level below the NRL.
6. Team of the week
1. Fullback - Kevin Locke (Warriors)
2. Wing - Glen Fisiiahi (Warriors)
3. Centre - Tim Lafai (Bulldogs)
4. Centre - Konrad Hurrell (Warriors)
5. Wing - Manu Vatuvei (Warriors)
6. Five-eighth - Thomas Leuluai (Warriors)
7. Halfback - Albert Kelly (Titans)
8. Prop - Jacob Lillyman (Warriors)
9. Hooker - Isaac Luke (Rabbitohs)
10. Prop - George Burgess (Rabbitohs)
11. Secondrow - David Taylor (Titans)
12. Secondrow - Feleti Mateo (Warriors)
13. Lock - Elijah Taylor (Warriors)
