NSW Blues vow to up the "aggression" for Origin II

Brydens Lawyers NSW Blues captain James Tedesco said the Blues will need to up their “aggression and passion” if they’re to claim Game Two of the Ampol State of Origin series at Optus Stadium in Perth on Sunday night.

NSW put the finishing touches on their preparations today with a Captain’s Run at Optus Stadium and will head into tonight’s game knowing they must win to send the series to a decider at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday 13 July.

NSW coach Brad Fittler expressed concern after losing Game One 16-10 in Sydney that the Blues had simply allowed Queensland to dictate terms at the ruck and were unable to come up with a plan on the run to stop it.

Tedesco told a Fan Day event in Perth today the team would need to be better in that department if they’re to beat the Maroons in Game Two.

“Yeah possibly; I think we learned a lot of lessons out of Game One,” Tedesco said. “We’ve looked at that during the week, and trained for that during the week, and it’s felt really good.

“Yeah, maybe we were a bit too nice but Origin footy you’re going to get a lot of aggression and passion and we’ll probably have to up that for this game.”

Fittler said he had addressed any concerns he had about the performance of Ashley Klein from Game One with NRL referees boss Jared Maxwell. Klein has been appointed again to control Game Two.

“We just did our due diligence like everyone does; just asked for explanations,” Fittler said.

“Outside of that, no I haven’t spoken to Jared Maxwell.”

Fittler made changes to the team which lost Game One including Matt Burton and Stephen Crichton starting at centre; Apisai Koroisau at hooker; Jake Trbojevic at prop; Cameron Murray in the backrow while Damien Cook, Angus Crichton, and Siosifa Talakai will provide punch off the bench.

“I’ve got to pick a team that I think is going to win and I make no apologies for that,” Fiitler said.

“It’s been a great week’s training, so I feel like we’ve made some good decisions.

“We’ve got improvement without a doubt but watching the video I think Queensland have as well.

“I feel like we’re coming into a period of Origin where both teams are stacked with players playing in good footy teams and really in form.

“So not just this year but in the coming years it’s going to be a great period of State of Origin; just close-fought battles.”