State of Origin II: Reece Walsh knows the threat is coming, how will he respond?

Don’t miss the moment the first NSW bomb of the night drops towards the outstretched arms of Reece Walsh, writes Robert Craddock, because what happens next will decide the match.

Reece Walsh and the Queensland origin team train at Sanctuary Cove on the Gold Coast ahead of game 2 in Melbourne. Pics Adam Head

There will be more than 80,000 people chanting at the MCG on Wednesday night but there will also be a moment when the world stands still.

It’s when the first NSW bomb of the night gets sent somewhere towards planet Pluto and drops towards the outstretched arms of Reece Walsh.

So what’s it going to be? Redeemed Reece, Rattled Reece?

The league world will hold its breath as Walsh prepares for his first act since he was knocked senseless in the first Origin game by Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii.

“Walsh’s night could come down to that first bomb,’’ Origin legend Trevor Gillmeister said. “They will see if he is rattled or not. There will be blokes sent through to clean him up.

“The best thing he can do is touch the ball early. Take that first bomb and maybe beat a tackle or bump someone off and his confidence would be through the roof after that.

“It is not easy when you are playing your first couple of Origins. You do question yourself whether you are up to the mark. I hope they rally around him away from the field. I was lucky to have Fatty Vautin as my roommate.’’

Reece Walsh talks with his Maroons teammates after Origin I. Picture: Getty Images

Most human beings in this situation would be carrying some form of mental scar tissue. Top rugby league players have exceptional mental toughness but they are not immune from pressure.

In State of Origin rugby league there is no room for baggage or mental hand breaks.

You go hard. You go home. Can Walsh simply be Walsh and go full throttle? This is the greatest challenge of his brief career.

The Blues have watched footage of Walsh’s sweeping backline raids where he looms like a foaming breaker in the surf before using his senses and his skills to find space when often there appears none.

The question is whether Walsh can leave the trauma behind him in his first game back and instantly slot into the rhythm which makes him one of the most dangerous and watchable players of his era.

Billy Slater and Reece Walsh talk at a maroons training session ahead of Origin II. Picture: Adam Head

Channel 9 have stoked the fire by including footage of the Walsh knockout in their pre-match promotions. That’s the thing about Origin. Highlights and lowlights are often the same thing such is the fury of the furnace.

Gillmeister has special affection for the MCG because his iconic Maroons team of 1995, who pulled off a 3-0 Origin cleansweep against all odds, were the last Queensland team to win there.

“I couldn’t believe that fact until I was told about it this week. We were never expected to win one game that year, never mind three,’’ he said.

Bookmakers have been struggling to work out which team to make favourite for this match before settling for NSW – just.

It’s all based on two factors – the return of Latrell Mitchell and the fact that, in recent times, the team which has lost the first Origin game have seven wins from eight starts in Origin II if they are playing at home or a neutral venue.

Gillmeister understands this vibe.

“The second games, when you are one up, are mental rather than physical,’’ he said.

“You tell yourself that you don’t have a safety net but deep down the Queensland team knows they are one-up and have the third game at Suncorp.

“It shouldn’t matter but it can. There just might be that lose ball that you would dive on 99 times out of 100 but you might just hesitate.’’

Coach Billy Slater has been as forensic as ever in his preparation of the team.

Slater starts Origin camps with a 25 minute walk from the team hotel to Suncorp Stadium, deliberately through the spiritual setting of Caxton Street, turning left to Suncorp to walk past statues of Origin greats Mal Meninga and Allan Langer.

It is a bonding session in every way bar name. The players chat informally and by the time they reach Suncorp the first day tension has evaporated.

Slater is always thinking. On Monday night he took the team to a private dinner at the MCG as they overlooked the famous ground. Players wandered around looking a photos of the likes of Don Bradman, absorbing the “G’’ vibe.

The MCG will never be home. But Slater wanted it to feel familiar.

Just as he was as a player, he is king of the one percenters.