Jun 22nd, 2017

Jun 22nd, 2017

NSW legend Andrew Johns has maintained the rage on the Blues following their capitulation in State of Origin II, after accusing them of not standing up to be counted when the game was in the balance and breathing life back again into the Queensland dynasty.

Johns was livid that NSW let a 16-6 lead slip on their home turf at ANZ Stadium with the Maroons storming over the top of them in the second half to win the match and keep the series alive for the decider in Brisbane on July 12.

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The former champion halfback was particularly stunned that the Blues did not target Maroons five-eighth Johnathan Thurston in defence, particularly as he was a passenger for most of the second half after aggravating a shoulder injury.

NSW had been touted as starting its own era after playing second fiddle to Queensland for over a decade, but now face an uphill battle to claim the series at Suncorp Stadium with Thurston playing his farewell match while Cooper Cronk, Billy Slater and Cameron Smith could also follow suit.

"NSW completely lost their way," Johns told Wide World of Sports.

"They didn't target any weaknesses in the Queensland team and when the game was on the line, the worrying thing was a few NSW players sat back and didn't want to get involved in the play.

NSW were in a strong position to wrap up the State of Origin series against Queensland but lost their way in the second half. (AAP)

"Hopefully there's some lessons learned, some real harsh lessons for the NSW guys.

"I truly believe they can go up there and win game three but the game was there to win, not only win, but win by a big margin and make a big statement to Queensland to finish the dynasty

"They've given the dynasty life and I'm so disappointed."

Johns said he was still stunned that the Blues did not target Thurston, a strategy that would have made the defenders around him panic and open up more gaps for their attack.

"I said it last night and I'll stick by it, I think it was the dumbest half of football played by a NSW team," Johns said.

"They completely went away from what was successful in game one and the first half of game two. They're playing on a slippery surface at ANZ and they decided to move the ball laterally sideways with these deep block plays which just didn't put Queensland under any pressure.

"They had the champion Johnathan Thurston, everyone in the stadium could see him, he was lame, he was carrying his shoulder around. So the game plan should have been to sit on JT and pressure JT and run at him as much as possible."

Queensland five-eighth Johnathan Thurston re-aggravated a shoulder injury but was never put under any real pressure by NSW. (Getty)

Johns added that the Maroons would have found some of NSW's attacking plays laughable and he couldn't understand why the Blues kept trying them.

"They start going on these elaborate deep, set plays, these block plays," Johns said.

"You know what? It's not a club game, it's Origin. We've been playing club footy for too long at Origin and Queensland defend it well. I can sort of hear them sniggering as they do it."

Johns said he was still confident the Blues could overcome the hype surrounding Thurston's last game in Brisbane to claim the series provided they got back to the style of footy that saw them dominate the opening game.

"We saw in game one, I thought NSW's speed and their young forwards were far superior," Johns said. "I thought last night you could see that in the first half. I think they're quicker and I think they're stronger.

"But the other problem is emotionally how Queensland is going to lift and it's also how NSW handle that emotion?

"If they can just put that away and concentrate on getting the game done then Suncorp Stadium holds no fears for NSW if it's a dry track. However if it's wet and slippery then it plays in the hands of Queensland.

"It's going to be a very, very emotional time and it's also how Queensland handle that emotion. Emotion can get you so far but it can also drain you."