NSW prop forward Junior Paulo insists he didn't need a one-on-one rev-up from coach Brad Fittler to inspire him after the Blues' opening loss in State of Origin, but admits the defeat gave him cause to rethink his approach to the representative arena.
Paulo ran for only 33 metres in Origin I, the second-least of any Blues forward, and admitted he was disappointed with himself after the 16-10 loss.
But after a fiery pep-talk from Fittler, Paulo took a new philosophy into the second game: keep it simple and stick to your guns.
"I didn't need Freddie to fire me up," he told AAP.
"You certainly go away from from that game one disappointed and you definitely want to be able to respond and come back better."
Whether or not he needed it, the pep-talk with Freddy clearly worked, Paulo's injection from the bench into Origin II coinciding with the momentum swinging in NSW's favour.
The Parramatta co-captain finished with more metres than he's ever registered in an Origin game to go with 15 tackles and two tackle breaks in a workman-like performance.
"It was about just simplifying what my job was and just sticking to executing the gameplan," he said.
"That's what we did in game two."
Paulo's Origin rival Josh Papalii was reduced to a bit-player in Queensland's set-up under Billy Slater, averaging only 24 minutes across the first two games of the series.
He avoided relegation for the decider and Paulo said his great mate would be ready to prove he still belonged on the big stage.
"'Paps' is just one of those sort of big-game players who steps up when he needs to," he said.
"You want to be able to limit the impact that he brings. He'll certainly be out there to set the tone early and lay the platform.
"We're definitely good mates but you're the best of mates and the worst of enemies when you're on the field."
