Brydens Lawyers NSW Blues coach Brad Fittler has vowed to “hold his nerve” when it comes to his approach to Holden State of Origin despite needing to beat Queensland in Game Two in Perth to keep the series alive.
Fittler was disappointed that the Blues let a golden opportunity slip away in Game One at Suncorp Stadium after they led the Maroons 8-0 only to lose their way in the second half and go down 18-14 after a typical Origin fightback from their bitter rivals.
The loss has prompted plenty of talk in the media as to whether Fittler should change his team and there was more bad news on Friday after it emerged that prop David Klemmer – who was one of NSW’s best on the night – could miss up to six weeks with a wrist injury.
Fittler has approached Origin differently to his predecessors - an open media policy, barefoot post-training runs, yoga and breathing techniques are some of the practices he has introduced – and he said he wasn’t about to change things up now.
“The biggest thing is holding your nerve,” Fittler told Five with Freddy for nswrl.com.au
“That’s what we’re about – get to the game and we need to be great on the night.
“We talk a lot about pressure and dealing with pressure. I’ve looked at the game since, our tactics could be a little better so I think we could help our team out.”
Fittler said he was also looking forward to watching how the players returned to their NRL clubs and performed in the next two rounds before the team for Game Two is chosen on Sunday 16 June.
“They’ve got to go back and perform well for their clubs, simple as that,” Fittler said.
“Whoever gets to play we just spoke about going back and representing your club well.
“It’s so different to what it was last year (when we won Game One). We got the front and we held on for grim death (in Sydney), the last 10 minutes we only had 12 men.
“This is a different way to do it and what a fantastic challenge for us.”
