NSW must overcome a near 30-year hoodoo to retain the State of Origin shield after suffering a sapping 16-10 loss to Queensland in a frenetic series-opener in Sydney.
Not even 80,512 mostly NSW fans - the biggest Origin crowd since COVID-19 changed the world - could inspire the Blues to victory on Wednesday night.
A masterclass from Maroons halves Cameron Munster and skipper Daly Cherry-Evans consigned NSW to their first home defeat in five years.
Only one side this century - Queensland 2017 - have lost the first game with home-ground advantage and gone on to claim the series.
The Blues haven't achieved the feat since 1994, after losing Origin I at the SCG before claiming the series with bounce-back victories at the MCG and Suncorp Stadium.
Brad Fittler was in the NSW centres that year but this time he'll need to plot a comeback from the Blues' coaching box after the Maroons ambushed the hosts with a courageous performance despite being reduced to 15 men.
Winger Xavier Coates limped off in the first half, then interchange forward Jeremiah Nanai also suffered a leg injury after the break.
With superstars Latrell Mitchell and Tom Trbojevic unavailable, Fittler's selection of Jack Wighton as NSW's starting left centre over Stephen Crichton had raised eyebrows.
But it looked a masterstroke after Wighton crossed for the opening try of the night at Accor Stadium and continued to terrorise Queensland with a series of decisive plays both with and without the ball.
Wighton's strike, though, proved to be the Blues' only four points between the 15th and 71st minutes as the Maroons, with backs to the wall, shot to a 16-4 lead through tries from centres Dane Gagai and Valentime Holmes, and Cherry-Evans.
A Cameron Murray try nine minutes from fulltime gave NSW hope, with Wighton ankle-tapped metres from the line as the clock wound down as close as the Blues got to levelling the series opener.
"It was a bit sloppy. We probably lost that period just before halftime and then after halftime they came out firing and we didn't respond well enough," Blues halfback Nathan Cleary told the Nine Network.
"We probably just tried to move the ball a bit too much. We hadn't created anything first.
"They scrambled hard and saved us a couple of times just before the line and that's what Origin's about."
