Tragic to Madge-ic to ... Brisbane, where Origin cycles on and all bets are off

All smiles, Queensland were, all week. Melbourne, southernmost suburb of Brisbane, was beautifully grey one day, perfectly chilled the next.

In the pre-match changing room, Billy Slater chuckled with Cameron Smith, not even pretending to hate NSW. Some words about respecting the opposition were unconvincing.

Next time Queensland were back in their jolly room, they were 34 points down.

Fair to say, it won’t be like that in Brisbane in three weeks.

But before looking forward, how about a review. Maybe a replay. Maybe another one.

Everyone’s talking themselves into some sort of a state in big sport, and while Queensland had been unsuccessfully talking themselves into loathing and detesting NSW all week, the Blues had been equally unsuccessful in pretending to relax. Michael Maguire’s smile had a Russian defence minister’s look about it, for the cameras only, backbone tightly braced for the knife. Inside, something was burning, like an ulcer.

Slater, meanwhile, was confident enough six minutes into the match to enjoy a scheduled chat with his mates in the commentary box. Mitchell Moses had just merged Liam Martin through some sleepy Queensland traffic and the Blues were six points up.

Man of the match Mitchell Moses had the game of this life.Credit: NRL Photos

His team were “not into the cycle” of the match yet, Slater said.

Soon they were. The cycle involved a lot of standing by their goalposts watching Zac Lomax potting another conversion. By half-time, they had repeated the cycle six times. They were done. Done like a Moreton Bay bug with a pineapple fritter on top. And a chocolate-dipped banana for dessert.

If Queensland can learn one thing from this game, it is how the Blues play when they are allowed to do as they please.

In the middle, Payne Haas and Cameron Murray were running amok, if amok means dead straight with Maroons defenders stuck to them like clods of mud. On each side of the field, NSW had an admirable Crichton. Angus on the left was having the match of his life, while Stephen on the right was all smart choices, including the drag-tackle that put Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow into the in-goal area and temporarily out of the contest. Unlike game one, it was a smart and legitimate way to extinguish a threat.

Where else could you look? Queensland didn’t know. The three new New South Welshmen were superb. Mitchell Moses’s kicking game was of orchestral quality from the overture. His long kicking was perfectly long, and his short passes were perfectly short. In the 24th minute he put a bomb on a plate – a very high plate – for the towering Zac Lomax. Four minutes later, he put a grubber on a very low plate for the beetling Brian To’o. Nothing like knowing your wingers.

Running the ball back, Dylan Edwards always seemed to beat the first tackler, as he does for Penrith.

And then there was Latrell. Sold to the public as a miracle cure for everything that was wrong with the Blues, Latrell Mitchell didn’t have to win the match on his own. With his first significant touch, he dented the Queensland defensive line. With his second, he sucked in two tacklers while flick-passing to To’o. Soon after, Mitchell himself went over thanks to a beautiful chain of passes from Jarome Luai and Angus Crichton via Edwards. Mitchell made a difference but did not need to be the difference.

Lightning in a bottle . . . Reece Walsh had another tough night.Credit: NRL Photos

At 34-0, it was always going to be a game of two halves: Mitchell Moses and Jarome Luai. They executed their plans as halves can do when their forwards are going forward. Poor Tom Dearden must have been feeling like Flinders Street Station, all lines eventually going through him. Reece Walsh and Daly Cherry-Evans were having to make more tackles than runs. This NRL season has been notable for how many games are decided in the final seconds, but both Origin matches have been decided before half-time.

The Maroons, when at their best, prefer a fight to a feed, and after the break they were looking more like themselves. The melees began. In commentary, Smith was returning to his reffing days and sending Blues players to the sin bin and the match review committee. Jeremiah Nanai and Tabuai-Fidow went over for their customary tries before Edwards responded for NSW.

Queensland were into their cycle again, and the second half was competitive, as of course will be the match in Brisbane. NSW haven’t won a decider at Lang Park, after losing the first match in a series, in decades. But for all the rarity of that challenge, Origin really only knows one cycle: profound despair followed by uncontrolled hubris followed by depression followed by over-confidence. It’s the Blues’ turn to enjoy the high. Next time is next time. One thing is certain. All the smiles will be fake ones.