AS a proud Queenslander waking up on the other side of the border, it's always an interesting case study to gauge the local reaction after a Blues loss.
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Will they be like that meme where a dog sits at a table unfluttered, coffee in hand, his house up in flames around him and declaring 'this is fine'?
Or will they panic, forecast mass team changes and throw the baby out with the bathwater?
For mine, it should be somewhere in between.
THE HALVES
It's unfair to lay the blame solely at the feet of halfback Nathan Cleary, but the jury's out whether he's the right man for the Blues.
Yes, he defends well. Yes, he has a good kicking game (although it wasn't up to its usual standard on Wednesday, and failed to put the Maroons under much pressure.
But is that enough to have a mortage on a representative jumper? A steady hand.
Surely you have to provide some creativity and some danger to the opposition, and he has failed to do so in his four Origin appearances.
He has excuses. Five eighth Cody Walker went missing on debut and was subsequently 'hooked' by coach Brad Fittler. And the Maroons forwards were well on top in the second half, giving him little momentum to operate with.
Rabbitohs playmaker Adam Reynolds shaped as a good option, especially given he plays alongside Walker and hooker Damien Cook at club level.
But it emerged on Thursday he will be sidelined indefinitely with a back fracture. He joins Luke Keary on the sidelines, who would have been a lock to make his Blues debut before suffering another worry concussion.
Dare I say the two words that invariably drive Blues fans to the foetal position? Mitchell Pearce?
Five straight man of the match awards for the rejuvenated Knights is hard to ignore.
QUEENSLAND REBUILD
You beauty. No Thurston. No Slater. No Smith. No Cronk. No GI. Surely the Blues can now forge a dynasty of their own.
But just when NSW thought it had waited out the golden era, along come superstar talents Cameron Munster and Kalyn Ponga to help fill the void.
Both were outstanding on Wednesday. Five-eighth Munster threated to break the line every time he touched the ball and Ponga set up two of Queensland's three tries with bullet-like cut-out passes to his wingers.
Unfortunately for Blues fans, they will only get better. Their combination, with Ponga playing fullback for the first time at Origin level, was clunky, and it will undoubtedly improve for Origin II in Perth.
WHERE'S LATRELL?
When Latrell Mitchell was sent to the sin bin for ten minutes in the second half, did anyone even notice?
The Blues centre, rated by some pundits as 'the best player in the world' after a brilliant game for the Roosters against Wests Tigers a few weeks back, went missing.
He had virtually zero impact with the ball and was part of a left edge defence that was horribly exposed by Queensland.
Mitchell needs to lift for Origin II or he may meet the same fate as James Roberts.
BLUES FORWARDS NEED TO LIFT
Plenty of kudos (deservedly) will be given to Munster and Ponga, but the key factor in Queensland's recovery from an 8-0 halfttime deficit was the efforts of Josh Papalii and Jai Arrow.
The starting props were superb in the second half, their aggression inspiring the Maroons to belt the Blues in defence, and remove the ruck advantage they enjoyed before the break.
Blues coach Brad Fittler's bench rotation also has to be queried, in particular the decision to play David Klemmer for 52 minutes, then stick him on the bench for the rest of the game.
Roosters back rower and Young product Angus Crichton barely survived the chop for Origin I, and after a poor display is surely on shaky ground or Perth.
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