It was always going to be hard to draw any serious conclusions from the first game of this year’s State of Origin series.
Seven minutes were all you really had to go off. Once Joseph Suaalii was sent off for a high shot on Reece Walsh, Michael Maguire had to virtually throw his game plan out the window.
But as hard as it would be for most people to draw many positives from that 38-10 loss to the Maroons at Accor Stadium, there was one period in the game that stuck with Maguire.
It was the minutes leading up to and after halftime, where New South Wales held Queensland scoreless and actually scored through Zac Lomax to get within 10 points of the Maroons.
They were “signs”, Maguire said on Wednesday night after wrapping up the series, of a playing group that was willing to fight “really hard for each other”.
Signs that if the Blues had an even share of possession and their full complement on the field, they were capable of producing something special, even if it had to be in enemy territory.
So, after New South Wales defeated Queensland 14-4 at Suncorp Stadium to win the series, Maguire addressed his squad. “A special moment,” as the Blues coach characterized it in his post-game press conference, to recognize their “incredible” accomplishment and how far the team has come since the series opener.
