Brad Fittler not content with winning the Origin series — he wants a whitewash

TRIUMPHANT Blues coach Brad Fittler has warned Queensland he is going for the jugular and won’t let NSW’s celebrations take the edge off their desire to inflict a 3-0 rout of the Maroons.

TRIUMPHANT Blues coach Brad Fittler has warned Queensland he is going for the jugular and won’t let NSW’s celebrations take the edge off their desire to inflict a 3-0 rout of the Maroons.

In an ominous sign for the Maroons, the last man to inspire a Blue-rinse was Fittler, who skippered NSW to a famous 56-16 drubbing in their series sweep in 2000, which consigned Queensland to their darkest chapter in Origin history.

Fittler’s leadership was so powerful it triggered a cultural shake-up of the Maroons. In the wake of the 40-point embarrassment, Queensland sent an SOS to Wayne Bennett, who returned to coach the side in 2001 and presided over the creation of the Maroons’ Emerging Origin program.

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Greg Inglis of the Queensland Maroons congratulates NSW Blues coach Brad Fittler after Origin II. Picture: AAP Image

Now ‘Freddy’ is back to haunt Queensland as NSW coach and says he won’t take the foot off the Maroons’ throat as he plots his third consecutive win in Origin III on July 11 at Suncorp Stadium.

“I would love to win 3-0,” Fittler told The Courier-Mail.

“Not many teams do it in Origin. It’s worth the effort, but it’s very hard to achieve, so it’s important we don’t become complacent.

“To be honest, I didn’t know if we had the players to turn it around this season and I didn’t know if we had players playing well enough at the time (at club level).

“For so long, Queensland had guys like Johnathan Thurston and Cameron Smith and just an incredible team.

“But there’s no denying the Maroons are now a different footy team without Smith and Thurston and (Cooper) Cronk and we’ve become a better team at the same time.

“These two teams will have some great battles over the next 10 years, but first we want to finish the job this year.”

Blues coach Brad Fittler addresses his team following their win over the Maroons in Game 2. Picture: AAP

There has been just seven clean-sweeps in Origin’s 37-year history, underlining the difficulty of a trifecta of triumphs in the code’s toughest arena.

Even during Queensland’s record-breaking eight straight series wins between 2006-13, Mal Meninga’s troops managed a 3-0 rout just once in the 2010 campaign.

Maroons hooker Andrew McCullough has lost his first two Origin games and is desperate to taste his maiden victory in Game Three.

“We have to put some respect back in the Queensland jersey,” he said.

“There’s no such thing as a dead-rubber in Origin. You want to go out on a good note. We weren’t far off but in Queensland we want to give a bit back to the fans that are going to turn out.”

Fittler said coaching the Blues to Origin supremacy was up there with his most satisfying achievements in the game.

“It feels amazing,” the 31-game Origin icon said. “It’s taken a lot of people and a lot of effort to overcome the other team.

“Queensland have set the standard for a long time. I knew it would take a lot of energy from a lot of people. I’m a little bit relieved, but sometimes effort turns into a good result.”

Originally published as Brad Fittler not content with winning the Origin series — he wants a whitewash