Blues looking to history for edge
RUGBY LEAGUE
SYDNEY: History lessons in the New South Wales camp could give it an edge tonight as the Blues look to win their first State of Origin decider at Suncorp Stadium in 15 years.
Assistant coach Danny Buderus was the most recent captain to lead the Blues to victory at the hostile Queensland venue, while Paul Sironen was involved in the 1994 series win.
Both have spoken to the NSW squad to give fair warning in the leadup to game three in which the Maroons are aiming to win their fifth straight series when hosting a decider in Brisbane.
‘‘They know the history, they know the players that were playing then and the circumstances but it’s all about making their own history,’’ Blues coach Brad Fittler said yesterday.
‘‘There’s an opportunity to make it a really memorable occasion or it can pass them by.’’
Despite winning the past two series, the Blues have not been able to break Queensland’s dominance at Suncorp Stadium, losing the past four deciders at the ground since 2005.
The Maroons have dominated game three when a series is on the line — winning 13 to the Blues’ five, with two draws.
In 2017, Queensland recorded its eighth victory in a decider at the venue and fourth in a row, NSW winning just two — in 1994 and 2005.
Fittler became coach in 2018, vowing to change the culture of the team, and won the past two series, including a decider in Sydney last year.
But to win game three with the series on the line in front of 50,000 screaming Queenslanders for just the third time in history?
That would confirm the new era of dominance for the Blues.
And for Fittler, that’s an ‘‘amazing challenge’’.
‘‘They’re a better side than we played last year as well,’’ he said. — AAP