Queensland have to roll the dice and gamble on a fiery redhead from Canberra to change the trend of State of Origin in game two.
New South Wales were only average for much of the 80 minutes but always looked like winning and the Maroons have now lost two straight games at Suncorp Stadium for the first time since 1998 and four of their last five clashes with the Blues.
The Maroons need more aggression up front and Canberra’s wild child Corey Horsburgh has that in bucketloads.
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Corey Horsburgh should play for Queensland in game two. NRL Imagery
Yes, he can lose his cool on the big stage but the Blues were happy he wasn’t picked for game one and will be delighted if the Maroons persist with their ‘pick and stick’ mentality.
The other big call Billy Slater may want to consider is dropping the struggling Kalyn Ponga and moving the dangerous Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow to fullback.
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‘The Hammer’ is the most elusive ball-runner in the game but was starved of the ball with any time or space on Wednesday night.
Ponga has been a shadow of his best this season at club level and many put that down to Newcastle’s spluttering attack.
But in elite company, Ponga again looked flat and barely troubled the Blues defence.
Skipper Daly Cherry-Evans was another big-name Maroon who failed to fire and the oldest man in Origin footy may have played one series too many.
The Maroons are in awful trouble having lost game one at home – and only wholesale changes can give them a chance to turn things around.
