Queensland great Chris Close has a stunning warning for the current Maroons squad if there is not a massive change in outlook and performance in Perth.

“If we use the way we played in game one as a launching pad for game two we won’t beat them for another 100 years,” Close told AAP.

“If they can’t find it within themselves to lift to the standard required in State of Origin then they are going to find it difficult to win.”

While Close has resorted to hyperbole to make a point, the words of the man of the match in the first two Origin games in 1980 and 1981 should resonate with the current Maroons, who were dire in the series-opening 18-6 loss to NSW in Brisbane.

Queensland must win on Wednesday night to keep the series alive and avoid losing four Origin games in a row for the first time since 1996-1997.

Close backed the selectors’ decision to axe former Maroons skipper Daly Cherry-Evans as half and replace him with North Queensland co-captain Tom Dearden.

The former Maroons team manager said Dearden was the only player that went “above their club standard to a level that is called State of Origin” in Brisbane when he came off the bench and sparked the attack.

Close said it wasn’t just Cherry-Evans amongst the spine members who failed to fire.

“There are a couple of other players that are very lucky to be coming back,” he fired.

 (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

“Kalyn Ponga, Cameron Munster and Harry Grant were all very ordinary in game one, three of our most important players.

“I don’t care how far you go back and how many games they won or what they did, we are talking about this week. They need to understand they are judged for each game, not for the collective of the season.

“If we don’t have players that can lift and play above the club standard that is required to play Origin and put their bodies on the line then they don’t deserve to be in the team.”

Close’s comments come from the right place. There is no more passionate Queenslander than the man known as “Choppy”.

“I get stirred up because I hate losing,” he said.

“NSW have a really good team and are playing with a spirit that NSW doesn’t display that often, but this team has it.

“(For Queensland) we have got to lose that mindset that the world stops when our good players are forced to retire.

“Let’s find another mindset where we find a player who will take over and give us what we need – a performance at a level that is way above what they give on a week-in and week-out basis.”

Hooker Grant had one of his poorest games at Suncorp Stadium.

“I’ve played enough footy over the years to know what I need to do and know what’s important going into a big game like an Origin,” Grant said this week when asked about his game one display.

“I probably went away from that a little bit and it flowed into the game.”

Munster will captain the side for the first time in Perth.

“I need to go out there and be the best player for this team and the best version of myself,” he said.

“I will do everything I can and get the ball in my hands to win this game, that’s pretty much why I’m out there.”

(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

The Origin comebacks that offer Queensland hope

MAGUIRE’S MIND GAMES LEAD TO HEIST OF 2024

Just last year, NSW were able to pull off exactly what the Maroons are attempting to do. After A series-opening flogging at home where Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii was sent off, Michael Maguire began throwing barbs at Billy Slater and the series turned. NSW demolished the Maroons in Melbourne, before winning a decider at Suncorp for the first time since 2005.

THURSTON DOES IT WITH ONE ARM IN 2017

Queensland looked shot after Andrew Fifita led an assault on Suncorp Stadium and NSW won the series opener there 28-4. The Blues then led 16-6 at halftime in Sydney, before Johnathan Thurston engineered a comeback while playing with a season-ending shoulder injury. Momentum had swung, and the Maroons won comfortably in Cameron Munster’s debut in Brisbane.

QUEENSLAND SAVE STATE OF ORIGIN IN 2006

There were genuine fears over the future of State of Origin when NSW won a thrilling game one in Sydney and looked on track for a fourth straight series win. The Maroons hit back with a 30-6 flogging in Brisbane, before Darren Lockyer’s famous effort to intercept a Brett Hodgson pass late in Melbourne secured a win for the Maroons and forever altered the course of Origin history with seven more consecutive series wins to follow.

JOHNS’ LAST HURRAH IN 2005

NSW had a mountain to climb after another all-time classic in the series opener, coming back from 19-0 down to lose 24-20 in golden point. Enter Andrew Johns. The Newcastle legend came back from injury set up a 32-22 win in Sydney before a 32-10 domination in Brisbane three weeks later. It would prove the champion halfback’s last Origin match, and the end of an era of Blues’ domination before Queensland’s dynasty began the following year.

BLUES’ 1994 RESURRECTION AFTER MAROONS MIRACLE

Mark Coyne scored the most famous try in State of Origin history to take Queensland to victory in game one, but it was NSW who pulled off the ultimate miracle over the next month. Defence won the game for the Blues in Melbourne, before a second straight victory on the road at Suncorp Stadium won them the series for the third straight year. It marked the first time a team came from 1-0 down to lift the shield.

© AAP