ONLY one person truly knows the torment injured NSW hooker Robbie Farah will be feeling at 8pm on Wednesday.

That man is Michael Ennis.

Nine months ago, Ennis was left shattered and robbed by two fractures in his foot, suffered just six days out from a grand final swan song with his former club Canterbury.

Ennis watched from the sideline as the Bulldogs crashed to a 30-6 defeat to South Sydney.

On Wednesday, Ennis is poised to earn his grand final redemption with his old sparring partner Farah, forced to deal with a similar emptiness from his seat at a sold-out Suncorp Stadium.

As of Tuesday night, time was expected to fail Farah and his gallant bid to overcome a broken right hand.

media_camera Farah’s bid to play in the decider seems destined to fall short.

He has done everything possible, pushing NSW coach Laurie Daley all the way and right up until the captain’s run.

But internally, the Blues always knew that despite the NSW hooker’s bravery and defiance to play with broken bones in his hand, the gamble outweighed the risk in the biggest game of the year.

Farah has worked with Ennis throughout the entire build-up for the Blues. The pair, once archrivals, are now tied to the common goal of bringing down Queensland in their own backyard.

In the peak form of his career since moving from the Bulldogs to Cronulla this season, Ennis is ready-made for Origin.

It will be his eighth appearance for the Blues, his first match for NSW since 2011.

His partnership with NSW halfback Trent Hodkinson, having spent four years together at the Bulldogs, was a major influence on Daley selecting him as Farah’s shadow.

At 31 — 54-days younger than Farah — Ennis is also a wiser, more mature footballer than the gung-ho and flighty dummy-half he presented for the Blues four years ago.

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The aggression and niggle remains, but he’s also developed into a genuine leader.

According to NSW captain Paul Gallen, Ennis indicated he was ready for the occasion from the moment he arrived in Blues camp last Thursday.

“He’s been great from day one,’’ Gallen said.

“He hasn’t been shy, he’s stepped up and has been some what of a leader around the side as well, as he is in all sides.

“He’ll be fine. He knows the game plan inside out already.’’

Asked how he has settled into a NSW side glued together by a culture Daley has cultivated on mateship, Gallen replied: “He’s a professional, everyone likes him.

“A few of the boys were a bit wary of him at the start, but even big Woodsy (Aaron Woods) came up to me and said he’s not a bad bloke.

“He’s run most of the training sessions in and out with Robbie.

“He’s just a competitor. He’s got more talk than niggle, he’ll be great.’’