“It’s a good place to be, fighting out of a corner.”
That’s what Westpac NSW Blues coach Brad Fittler told media on Tuesday when asked about the historic challenge ahead of his team in Game Two of the Ampol State of Origin series.
As the Blues begin preparations for a hostile Suncorp Stadium atmosphere next Wednesday night, Fittler noted that no NSW side has levelled the series on Queensland soil and proceeded to win the Origin Shield.
“It’s quite the challenge,” he added.
But it’s the perfect motivation for the Blues in their attempt to even ledger in Game Two and put themselves in a position to make history.
“We’re in a position where we’ve got to win,” Fittler said.
“We start today.
“We got them (the team) in today, made sure that we watched every game (in Round 15), we were out there yesterday just to see how the Parramatta and Canterbury players went, just to make sure we got the team we wanted."
Another difference in camp the second time around are the names joining the squad with limited training – Liam Martin (head knock), Latrell Mitchell (calf) and Cameron Murray (groin) – but it’s the mental challenge more than anything, which will go a long way to victory according to the coach.
“We’re going to have (some) players not train during the week, so a lot of it’s going to be mental and how we go about it," Fittler explained.
“He (Latrell) assured me he’s alright today, we’ve been working very closely with South Sydney, we’re looking for Sunday for them to train full-time. Given where Latrell sits in our plans, he’ll be given every chance.
“Liam’s different, Liam can do some sort of training today, but contact’s the big thing so he won’t be doing any contact leading into the game."
Game Two of the State of Origin series kicks off on Wednesday 21 June at 8.05pm.
