"Suncorp Stadium is worth at least ten points to the Queensland side."
That's the bold declaration from legendary Maroon Allan Langer, as he briefly bends the ear of ESPN ahead of the 2024 decider.
"I was always a very nervous player. If I didn't vomit before a game I'd be worried. Before Origin, you wouldn't want to be anywhere near my section of dressing room floor. Then we'd run out, and I'd feel better straight away. Because we were home," Langer elaborated.
The Maroons are home again for the 2024 decider, and will need every one of those 10 points Alfie says the legendary venue affords them. In their way- a NSW side full of momentum and belief, imploring an entire state to disregard the demons of Brisbane Origin Deciders Past.
There were wins in 1994, 2005, and then crickets. That is the Blues rap sheet leading into this year's edition. A near 20-year drought when it comes to wrapping up deciders at the home of QLD rugby league.
None of that matters to the Blues fans making a vocal traipse down Caxton Street 90 minutes before kickoff. They don't care about the giant QLD jersey hanging on scaffolding at the bottom of the street. They don't shield their eyes at the maroon lighting blazing from the exterior of the ground. They don't even shrink at the 'friendly' banter levelled from Maroons faithful as they take their place in the ticket line.
"Blues by 24, Maroons might score one late," Dave tells ESPN, resplendent in his early 90's era Blues jersey. Not far from him, a stalwart from that era and a member of the very first Blues team to take a decider at the then Lang Park, in 1994.
"We were up against it," confirms Balmain Tigers legend and 21 game Blue Tim Brasher.
"We had the fans to deal with, Mal Menings was retiring, we'd lost the first game (remember that MIRACLE Maroons fans?), and it was Lang Park."
"Then Ricky (Stuart), Loz (Laurie Daley) and Brad (Clyde) started making Mal's night difficult from the outset. His Raiders brothers didn't give a s--t about the QLD occasion. We all went with them."
No fear. That was the formula in 1994, and again in 2005, when Joey Johns and Danny Buderus stared down the Maroons to do it again. They knew they had the measure, if they did the little things and trusted in themselves to handle the big moments. It was a long time ago, but the key planks of a blueprint were laid. 20 years later, the Blues arrive at Suncorp Stadium, apparently without fear.
As kickoff approaches and the final team lists are confirmed, a single question bounces around the press box.
Is Billy Slater panicking?
The State of Origin icon has opted to completely revamp his starting pack an hour before kickoff. Moe Fotuaika, Felise Kaufusi and Harry Grant are injected into the starting side. Reuben Cotter's moving to the back row, Ben Hunt and Jeremiah Nannai are on the bench. The Grant and Hunt switch isn't a massive surprise, but a last minute renovation of the rest of the pack is most un-Slater like. Lindsay Collins taken out of the middle, Fotuaika and Kaufusi preferred to shore it up. Preventing an early roll on is obviously a big part of the blueprint. Whether it's panic from the Maroons, or a masterstroke, is the salivating reveal to come.
'SUNCORP STADIUM. ARE. YOU. READY?!'
The ground announcer asks the perfect rhetorical question to the packed stands, as Jake Trbojevic finds his way through the darkness and smoke to lead the Blues out. Then the Maroons run on, and that ten-point gift touted by Alfie Langer makes perfect sense. If anything, it seems like an overly conservative estimate.
A ferocious opening few minutes is highlighted by Payne Haas post contact, Reece Walsh energy, a Bradman Best break, and an injury to Angus Crichton. Harry Grant delivers a bell ringer, and Mitch Barnett's debut gets real far sooner than he likely expected.
There's even a minor melee. It's fast, it's sharp, and it's brutal. Ten minutes in and the sides exchange penalties. Kurt Capewell concedes two. Suncorp draws a breath. Those in maroon feel the assurance of a better start. Their Blue counterparts are assured their team is more than capable of repeating its MCG performance.
Jarome Luai and Daly Cherry-Evans are waging a personal battle that encapsulates the desperation of both states. It's tit-for-tat, eye-for-eye, blow-for-blow. Three early collisions from two of the NRL's finest competitors has set the tone.
Nanai enters the fray in the 16th minute. Kaufusi makes way after being driven back twice. Collins and Hunt are on soon after. Is Billy satisfied that the early roll through the middle? Angus Crichton's return heralds a brief blue burst, highlighted by Selwyn Cobbo being driven back into the in-goal and underscored by a brief melee off the ball with Cherry-Evans.
Dearden makes a line break with no support, Collins leads a kick chase and barrels Dylan Edwards. Half an hour in and Queensland's line speed remains intact, the Blues are throwing the ball around. It's a spectacle worthy of its billing.
Then Luai and Cherry-Evans escalate their personal battle, and the game grinds to a halt. Another push and shove, Nanai and Murray (from the bench) run to join in, and the sideline becomes the ring for Origin's version of a Wrestlemania all-in. The key takeaway is the binning of Nanai and Murray, the knocking over of a Channel 9 camera, and the ironic proximity to 9 commentator, former champion boxer, and the guy who had punching banned in the Origin arena: Paul Gallen.
Civility- or at least a version of it- returns and Stephen Crichton just misses the put down after a strong charge into the right hand corner. The Maroons maintain the energy to deny a quick series of red zone flurries, and manage to get down the other end. Chants of "NSW! NSW" are coming from the grandstand- in highly unexpected scenes. They are quickly countered by an overwhelming chorus of "Queenslander."
Giving an idea of the frantic nature of the opening half, the host broadcaster only manages to squeeze in its first in-game commercial 39 minutes into the contest. A Spencer Leniu dropped shoulder gifts the Maroons the only points of the half, and it's 2-nil. Officially a 36 point Maroon improvement from the same interval at the MCG.
The ground announcer needlessly curates the "noise-o-meter" at half time. Levels go from ear splitting to even more ear splitting. A quick pit stop and a bump into none other than Mal Meninga on the way back.
"In Billy we trust, Mal?"
"In Billy we trust," the great man nods.
The halftime noise check becomes even more redundant when the two teams re-enter the fray. Reece Walsh makes a break, Moses executes a great cover tackle, then holds his ribs. Carrigan and Cotter give up penalties through defensive over eagerness, and it's 2-all.
The Maroons produce a rampant yardage set, and the Blues match it. Queensland expands- bringing its edges into the contest- and NSW slides to stifle it. Take a series of loose penalties out of the equation and it's like a game of Street Fighter in the arcade- with both players using the monstrous and powerful lab created super soldier Blanka.
Kalyn Ponga enters the fray at 51.19, and QLD fans do a quick head count. Confirming the Knights talisman hasn't replaced Walsh, Dearden or Cherry-Evans. He hasn't. He's on for Collins and settles himself in the middle. The Maroons sweep left with Walsh, right with Ponga, and back left with Walsh. Angus Crichton smells trouble, and comes out of the line to crunch Walsh. Walsh is ginger, but stays on.
The first hints of fatigue are creeping in with under 25 minutes left. Moses executes the latest in a series of bombs for Zac Lomax, and QLD recover. Sixty minutes in and the Maroons find themselves camped back down the Blues end. Reece Robson paws the face of Harry Grant next to the posts, and it's soon 4-2. But the Blues intent remains intact, their desire strong, their play intentional. They withstand the attack and turn the counter on in spectacular fashion.
Jarome Luai finds an open channel on the left edge and scythes through. Make no mistake of the skill level required to execute his pass to Bradman Best. You don't win three straight premierships by throwing dud balls though, and the Blues have the first try of the decider.
Less than two minutes after Zac Lomax converts, Mitchell Moses is stepping through next to the posts, and QLD are 10 points in the red. A double strike to break Maroon hearts, and the Blues can smell it. Forget about the 20-odd years and the bare bones success rate at the ground- this side clearly has.
The exhaustion has caught up and the Maroons are failing to push through it. No shortage of attacking forays in the closing minutes, but the sting has abandoned them. There's a flatness in the line, the Walsh/Ponga combination has lulled, and realisation sinks in. Michael Maguire has the team he wanted, and has proven that Billy Slater is (at least partially) human. An entry worthy of recognition in the glorious archives of the concept. A NSW team worthy of walking away with heads held high and chests puffed out. And an atmosphere worthy of any sporting contest on the planet.
Jarome Luai embraces Daly Cherry-Evans and introduces his child to the QLD captain. Some kind words are exchanged, and the white line fever passes for another year. The ground empties quickly, with the maroon coloring conspicuously absent as the formal presentations are setup.
A "cracking series," as described by Daly Cherry-Evans in his concession speech.
"But it's not our year."
So Alfie Langer was off the money on this one. Suncorp Stadium didn't deliver 10 points to Queensland. As much as State of Origin is about honouring and preserving history, it's also about creating it.
Congratulations to the Blues. Let's do it all again next year.