CAMERON Smith could sense what was coming and didn’t want to retire from Origin with a series defeat.

That’s the assessment of Blues coach Brad Fittler ahead of Game III, where he will look to lead NSW to a series clean sweep in his first year as head coach.

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Smith dropped a bombshell on the rugby league world just three weeks out from Game I when he announced his immediate retirement from representative footy.

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New South Wales then picked 11 debutants and went on to wrap up the Origin shield for just the second time in 13 years with back-to-back wins in Melbourne and Sydney.

“For whatever reason he might have thought we were picking 11 players that were harder than what he wanted to take on this year,” Fittler said in Brisbane on Tuesday.

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Fittler felt the tide had been turning for a number of years and that 2018 was the right time for New South Wales.

Brad Fittler and Boyd Cordner have masterminded a NSW series triumph. Source: News Corp Australia

Cameron Smith’s retirement left the Maroons with a huge hole to fill. Source: AAP

On the back of Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk hanging up the Maroon boots, perhaps Smith agreed.

“NSW has done a really good job at winning just about everything. They’ve won all the age groups the last few years, they’ve won the women’s now and obviously Queensland have fallen behind somewhere,” Fittler added.

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