NSW can make a dozen changes. But they should rip up their game plan first

June 19, 2026 — 5:00am

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In the most demoralising, sky-blue soul-destroying game of 20 questions you can imagine, ask yourself this one. And be honest.

If he from Revesby and not Rockhampton, would NSW pick Cameron Munster?

Because if you were being honest with that miserable sod in the mirror on a cold, post-Origin morning, you know the Blues wouldn’t have backed Sam Walker in.

And if NSW did take the leap of faith increasingly necessary to win an Origin when all things – sin bins, send-offs and six-agains – are equal, would livewires like Munster and Walker really be given licence to play, and triumph, their way?

With a Suncorp series decider now on the menu, the Blues have no choice.

“Completely change the attack because structured footy doesn’t work at this level,” says Immortal Andrew Johns, having beaten that particular drum for several years already.

Shrewd interchange use by Billy Slater, and superb performances by Lindsay Collins, Max Plath and Trent Loiero, turned the Blues’ smaller-bodied middles into a disadvantage, and helped Queensland reel in a 12-2 deficit that could and should have been the platform for NSW to win the match and the series.

And the Maroons didn’t need to be attacking against 12 defenders to turn an Origin on its head.

Walker, Munster and Harry Grant chanced their hand from the moment Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow put a palm into the chest of Dylan Lucas and sped off like he’d pinched his wallet. Loiero’s lovely opening try – with dummies and show-and-goes from either........

© The Sydney Morning Herald