There's blood in Blue water after NSW collapse in Origin II

analysis MCG disaster pushes New South Wales to the brink of another State of Origin defeat Wed 17 Jun 2026 at 11:17pm When it comes to State of Origin, New South Wales defaults towards pessimism. They don't call them the Blues for nothing. They are sceptical in prediction and vicious in defeat. They turn on their own so quickly it becomes a feeding frenzy and after Laurie Daley's side collapsed in Origin II, there's blood in the water. The 44-24 loss at the MCG was a disaster for a team who had the chance wrap up the series and now face the prospect of walking into the hell of a Lang Park decider to try and save their Origin souls. Those souls, and a few Origin careers beside, are in serious need of saving after what happened in Melbourne. Queensland delivered a brutal knockout of a match that would have sent the Blue portion of the 91,000 strong crowd staggering back up the Yarra, wondering how on earth a team with as much talent as New South Wales fails to realise it time and again. The Blues were given a gift in the form of the opening try to Kotoni Staggs after Tom Flegler knocked-on a kick-off return straight to Mark Nawaqanitawase. They got another through Nawaqanitawase's try off a deflected Nathan Cleary kick. At 12-2 things were looking up. But looks aren't everything. As the night grew longer the Maroons picked New South Wales apart, first with great patience and precision, like a surgeon and finally with a shocking ease, like a schoolboy pulling the wings off a fly. Billy Slater's side showed all the classic traits of his Queensland tenure — they were lighter and faster and knew how to use those traits to their advantage. They trust each other and work together, always, in attack and defence. Sometimes Slater's selections might be hard to parse but he is an expert in getting the absolute best out of the teams he does pick. If he gets the horses he wants, he knows exactly how to run them. That might sound easy but if it was everyone would do it. The Blues, in a cruel contrast, can never seem to reach the limits of their own abilities. Staggs, so strong in Origin I, had an awful time of it after his try with two errors, more than a few bad reads in a defence and a late sin bin. Victor Radley was another who left his best form in Sydney as his discipline abandoned him before a key drop in the Queensland red zone precipitated the Maroon tsunami. Some of the tactical decisions from Daley were hard to understand. The decision to go with Dylan Lucas over Haumole Olakau'atu, one which was never fully explained, proved to be a misfire. Lucas, one of the fastest backrowers in the NRL, had little attacking impact on debut and struggled to connect with Staggs defensively amid a switch from the left side, where he plays for Newcastle, to the right. The gamble to play Mitchell Moses backfired with the Parramatta half looking underdone. Addin Fonua-Blake came off the bench to play only ten minutes. Despite the Blues crying out for some attacking spark around the ruck early in the second half. Api Koroisau did not get on at all. The poor bench management has been a running theme of Daley's time in charge, as has losing series after winning Game I. It's happened on three occasions under Daley's watch, in 2013, 2017 and 2025, which is one third of the times it's happened in the whole of Origin history. This defeat means Daley has now presided over more losses than any other Origin coach. A loss in the decider would mean he has one series win from seven attempts. In his previous stint, from 2013 to 2017, one could point to the quality of the opponent as an excuse as Queensland romped to the back half of their dynasty. That crutch is not available this time. The Blues have had the talent to win, as was made clear by the 2024 series under Michael Maguire when they themselves came back from 1-0 down. That side cemented it's place in Origin history by winning a Lang Park decider, becoming just the third New South Wales team to do so. Daley's charges have that same chance before them but if they're to be any hope they must avoid sinking into the despair of feeling like the series is already over, even if that's what pervades right now. In the final days leading into Origin II, Daley's coaching came under heavy scrutiny. The Blues players and staff defended him loyally, but at some point you are what your record says you are. They had the chance to silence the doubters with victory here and could not. Now they will be louder than ever and more and more fans will think they have a point. New South Wales can ring in the changes for Origin III if they want. Latrell Mitchell might be available and Tom Trbojevic and Bradman Best as well. Moses will likely have more games under his belt and Blayke Brailey might be back from his broken arm. There are plenty of options, but sometimes too many options are the same as none at all if you can't make the most of them. Whatever team they name, the Blues will look good on paper. Aside from some tantalising, infrequent glimpses, most of which came when they were a man up, paper's the only place they've looked good under Daley the second time around. They're a gun without bullets, a sword without an edge, a team lost in the search for their better selves. They better find it soon, because a trip to hell awaits and when it comes to Origin, doubt is as worse than poison because it kills twice as fast. [Image text:] TOOHE ESA ALE