Ricky Stuart and Andrew Johns’ Blues-print for winning Origin deciders in Brisbane

If NSW players are wondering how they can kill some time before the biggest game of their lives in the State of Origin decider at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night, they could do worse than pack away the PlayStation and watch the first five minutes of the corresponding match in 2005.

It will reveal precisely what’s required to become just the third Blues side in Origin history to win a decider in Brisbane.

“Greatest defensive display I’ve seen from a football team,” Ricky Stuart, the NSW coach in 2005, recalls. “And proudest moment.”

Andrew Johns, the halfback, puts it this way: “That five minutes broke Queensland. Broke their spirit.”

NSW had levelled the series in Sydney when Johns returned from a broken jaw and peeled off the greatest performance from a player in a sky-blue jumper.

Andrew Johns and Ricky Stuart both know what it takes to win an Origin decider in Brisbane.Credit: Fairfax Media/NRL Imagery/Marija Ercegovac

They had all the momentum heading into the decider in Brisbane, just as Michael Maguire’s team has it now, but the start was brutal.

Queensland dominated the opening five minutes with almost all the possession and field position.

With halves Darren Lockyer and Johnathan Thurston pulling the strings, and hooker Cameron Smith darting dangerously from dummy half, the Blues were forced to repel five sets on their own tryline.

Queensland started the match with four tackles in the opening set before NSW had to make the next 27, aided by three set restarts after short kicks were fumbled by Blues players.

Juggernaut Tonie Carroll charged onto a short ball from Lockyer and would’ve scored if not for the desperate defence of NSW prop Jason Ryles.

“This is a disastrous start for New South Wales!” roared the great Ray Warren in commentary for Channel Nine.

As it turned out, it wasn’t disastrous at all. It set them on their way.

Frustrated at his side’s inability to score, Lockyer grubbered on the third tackle, fullback Anthony Minichiello gobbled it up on his own line and motored downfield before being tackled on the 20-metre line.

A couple of minutes later and the Blues received a penalty in front.

When back-rower Craig Fitzgibbon kicked the first points of the match, it demoralised the Maroons so much they never recovered.

“We were just passionately hungry,” Stuart says. “We had what Queensland thought they owned. We had the passion to do whatever we had to do.

“That defensive effort in the first five minutes when we had no football gave us the energy and emotion to win that match. Special moments come from special efforts. The tries saved, the desperation in defence, it gave us that foundation for the rest of the game.”

NSW scored tries through Braith Anasta, Mark Gasnier and Matt King just before halftime, while the Maroons didn’t cross until Thurston went over in the 73rd minute.

“The most rewarding thing up there is keeping the crowd quiet,” Johns says. “When they’re quiet, you know you’re killing it. That will be the test for our inexperienced players who haven’t played up there. You can listen to past players and coaches talk about how hostile it is, but you don’t know until your foot hits the ground for the first time.”

Says Stuart: “We took the crowd out of that game in 2005 by eliminating every facet of Queensland’s attack. When they had so much ball and couldn’t score a try, it broke their hearts.”

The 32-10 victory was only NSW’s second in a decider in Brisbane. The first time was 1994 when Stuart was halfback and Phil Gould was coach.

Like 2005 – and this year – the Blues had lost game one but had squared the series in the next match at the MCG.

The Maroons had the added incentive in the decider of Mal Meninga playing his last Origin.

“You’ve got to win big moments in Origin, and in Origin there isn’t a lot of opportunity because it’s such an end-to-end arm wrestle,” Stuart says. “Opportunities are limited. The team that has the individuals who can make the most of those limited opportunities have a greater advantage.

Good one Gus ... Ricky Stuart with Phil GouldCredit: Simon Alekna

“That comes back to the ability of the player. You need your spine to dominate. What comes off that is field position, your middle forwards get to dominate their middle third of the field, and suddenly you are in a better position to win the game.”

In 1994, NSW put Queensland back in their box with three early tries.

One of them was the result of signature Laurie Daley magic, stepping off his left foot twice to score. Another for Bradley Clyde came via hooker Benny Elias, who intercepted an Allan Langer pass after the Blues’ defence had rushed up off the line.

“You take the big moments away from the opposition by you winning them,” says Stuart, who also lost the 2011 and 2012 series as coach in Brisbane deciders.

Just as fundamental to winning Origin deciders is the kicking game.

In the 2005 decider, Johns kicked 371 metres from 11 kicks, while Anasta booted 284 metres from eight. Thurston and Lockyer kicked the ball for just 302 metres between them.

In comparison, NSW halfback Mitchell Moses kicked 442 metres in his side’s 38-18 win at the MCG in game two this year. He’ll need to do in Brisbane what he did in Melbourne if his side is to triumph on Wednesday night.

“Kicking is important in every game of football, but there’s a greater emphasis in Origin because it’s so hard to get field position,” Stuart says. “There’s so much more at stake. It comes back to your spine. Big players in big positions own the results.

Ricky Stuart and Andrew Johns kicking during an Origin training session in 2005Credit: Tim Clayton

“That’s why Origin turns players into legends. It’s the toughest stage in rugby league to play on. You rely on a player who stands up and owns it. In 2005, that was Andrew Johns. When he came into camp, he lifted the whole team: there was a different intensity at training, different intensity in preparation, and that transitioned to game day.”

The Blues don’t have the equivalent of Johns nor Stuart heading into this match, although they have enough big-game experience to carve out their own slice of history.

Johns knew how rare his side’s victory was as the minutes ticked down in the 2005 decider, barking out critical instructions to his teammates until the very end.

“No soft tissue injuries, boys!” he told them. “We’re going to have a beer tonight.”

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