BY CURTIS WOODWARD

@woodward_curtis

They have been the dominant side for 140 of the 160 minutes so far in State of Origin 2017 but the New South Wales Blues may come away with nothing from this series if history is anything to go by.

Game III at Suncorp Stadium may well be decided by a solitary point and if goes the way of the Queenslanders as it generally does – these new Blues will be scarred just like all those fallen New South Welshmen that have come before them.

Regret is a powerful poison and that twenty minutes at ANZ Stadium in Game II could burn Boyd Cordner and his troops for all of eternity.

The series was wrapped up. It was all over. NSW had done the hard bit. They had beaten the Maroons in Game I in Brisbane and all they had to do was come back to Sydney and continue the rage. Instead, they invited QLD back into the series – they froze up.

For all their hard work, 2017 could be another failure.

Johnathan Thurston – the ultimate #Origin tribute 😢#NRL pic.twitter.com/RmO4W4pU2z

— NRL (@NRL) July 10, 2017

NSW need to perfect again.

The Blues can’t expect to simply match it with QLD and hope to win it at the death. QLD has too much riding on this one and have everything running in their favour despite not having the mercurial Johnathan Thurston at their disposal. The Maroons want to send Thurston and potentially Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater out as the champions they are. They’ve made a living off icing nail biters and cliff hangers.

NSW need to blow the Queenslanders off the park in the exact same fashion as they did in Game I.

Come out swinging or don’t come out at all.

And things got just a little tougher for the Blues with Game III officially announced as a sell out on Tuesday afternoon.

“This will be arguably the most anticipated Origin clash in the history of the interstate contest, so it will be great to see the house full sign up,” NRL CEO Todd Greenberg said.

“We have worked with Suncorp Stadium to maximise capacity. This sort of contest deserves to have as many people watching as possible.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP0Y5zVS2Jg

Much was made of QLD coming to ANZ Stadium and the task they had of squaring the series.

The job ahead of the Blues is tenfold.

NSW must trust what has brought them to the party.

“A lot of people think Origin’s just a physical game, but it’s just as much if not more mental,” Blues prop Aaron Woods said.

If the Blues have a single doubt in their minds after what happened at the end of Game II then they already start behind the eight ball in Game III which spells doom.

Come out swinging or don’t come out at all.

@woodward_curtis