Analysis: Laurie Daley's cool Blues find winning style

SPEED and tempo. There is no way to compete in the Origin arena without the capacity to execute precisely and quickly.

Jarryd Hayne

SPEED and tempo. There is no way to compete in the Origin arena without the capacity to execute precisely and quickly.

Last night, Queensland were exposed on both fronts, and the price was brutal.

The Maroons have been a juggernaut for seven years, not just because they had talent but because the sum exceeded the parts.

They were hungry and they were able to execute under pressure.

Above all, they coped with Origin's speed and sustained the intensity for longer periods than talented but mentally weaker NSW outfits.

How the wheel can turn. The Maroons side that turned up to ANZ Stadium last night was almost identical on paper to the class of 2012, but Mal Meninga's sports car chugged along in second gear.

In the process, the penny finally dropped for NSW. Under Laurie Daley, who has injected a composure lacking in previous Blues sides, NSW learned that Origin games are won with control and execution.

In an arena that can present few attacking opportunities, talent is not always the deciding factor.

The Blues drew first blood last night because they wanted it more.

In clutch moments, they controlled the tempo, and play by play their execution was consistently sharper and faster. Speed and tempo.

The first half broke the Maroons. While they spluttered out of the blocks, the Blues looked slick. By the 15-minute mark they were having no trouble making the advantage line.

The Maroons were criticised for failing to carry a specialist prop on interchange but the problem was not necessarily a lack of size, but speed.

With James Maloney and Mitchell Pearce operating seamlessly in the NSW nerve centre, the Blues forwards did the rest, powering through the rucks and setting the tone with the potent currency of yardage.

Significantly, the Blues' bench also provided more punch.

NSW interchange forwards Trent Merrin, Andrew Fifita and Anthony Watmough were busy, hungry and mobile. They maintained, and built, pressure. By halftime, NSW's players had amassed 825m. The Maroons posted a paltry 495m. In Origin, where possession and territory is nine-tenths of the law, the Maroons were being run out of the contest.

After the break, Queensland regathered a semblance of the control that has been the bedrock of their seven-year dynasty.

But, driven by Daley's cool style, the Blues held their nerve. They were sloppier in the second half, but they have rediscovered the Origin recipe. Daley's class of 2013 are quick on their feet ... and quicker between the ears.