Maguire has made plenty of changes. That doesn’t mean he’s hit the panic button

There are State of Origin post-mortems, and then there are State of Origin post-mortems when NSW lose game one.

For a state long ridiculed by those in Queensland as eating its own when things aren’t going well, the biggest question in the last 11 days was: will Michael Maguire blink?

On Sunday night, most would suggest the answer was no.

For the past few months, Maguire has seemingly clutched a blue jumper in his left hand everywhere he’s been, and a picture of Steve Mortimer kissing the turf in the other. He was never going to throw his character-first policy out the door after one game. Especially when for 72 minutes his players emptied their lungs for mission impossible – beating the Maroons with 12 men after Joseph Suaalii’s send-off.

So, his game two squad is one with a few massages and tweaks, and largely devoid of the open-heart surgery the Blues usually flirt with after a heavy Origin loss.

Importantly, the changes can all be easily explained away, too.

NSW Blues coach Michael Maguire.Credit: Janie Barrett

The most controversial one is Latrell Mitchell ending his three-year Origin exile. But when you account for the fact it’s for the suspended Suaalii, Maguire can easily point to the fact it’s been forced upon him, and Mitchell’s form in the past month has been irresistible.

Maguire’s boldest selection call for game one was to parachute Dylan Edwards into the fullback jersey, dumping James Tedesco as NSW captain (Tedesco later played after Edwards’ quad strain in camp). Now that Edwards is available again, is it really a change at all?

Ditto Connor Watson. Before his throat injury, the Roosters star was the favourite to win the utility spot on the NSW bench. His inclusion gives the Blues a tad more flexibility than what they had for game one, although Hudson Young can consider himself unlucky when only entering game one in the second half and being forced to play in the centres.

It wouldn’t be a NSW selection meeting without the acid being on the halfback.

It might seem harsh to put the red pen through Sharks No.7 Nicho Hynes after one game in which there were significant extenuating circumstances, but there’s little doubt that had Mitchell Moses had played for the Eels before the team was chosen, he would have been there.

Like Edwards and Watson, the coach is going back to, dare we say it, his original Bluesprint.

Cameron McInnes is the interesting one. He’s a player straight out of the Maguire mould, with the missing teeth to prove it. In game one, he did little to stand out. But isn’t that the beauty of McInnes? His stat line read 41 tackles for no misses. Most would consider it a job well done.

But with Cameron Murray available again – another Maguire favourite – the decision is understandable.

Latrell Mitchell hasn’t played for NSW since 2021.Credit: Getty

The headline will say Maguire has made five changes, but they’re not the type of changes which suggest the coach has panicked. Far from it.

Perhaps the key to saving the series in Melbourne, another venue likely to bring cold and dewy conditions, will be getting the best out of Mitchell.

His return to NSW colours will come with familiarity – he will be surrounded by the same left-side players with which he flourished in Townsville and Brisbane during that unforgettable COVID-impacted series in 2021.

At five-eighth will be Jarome Luai and on the other side of Mitchell will be Luai’s Panthers teammate Brian To’o. It was the perfect mix for Brad Fittler at the time, and Maguire, a keen student of history, will be hoping his future success might lay in a clue from the past.

Jarome Luai held his five-eighth spot and delivered another star turn for Penrith on Sunday.Credit: Getty Images

But you can already sense Billy Slater will have already plotted how to throw NSW’s rockstar inclusion right back in their face.

In his seven-minute cameo in game one before being knocked out, Reece Walsh had already shown Queensland were going to attack NSW’s right-edge defence, manned by two Origin rookies in Suaalii and Zac Lomax.

With Stephen Crichton, considered the best defensive centre in the competition, expected to shift to the right, what’s the bet on how often the electric Walsh challenges the lateral movement of Mitchell on the other side of the field?

As good as Mitchell has previously been at centre, it’s a position he’s rarely played in recent years. His decision-making and speed across the ground to shut down Walsh might just determine whether the Blues have a chance of saving the series for a Suncorp Stadium finale, a rare rugby league spectacular.

And if they do, it would be because the NSW coach resisted the urge to completely rip up his team in an Origin post-mortem.

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