NSW players have vowed to not let their record drubbing of Queensland go to waste, driven by a history of State of Origin heartbreak at Suncorp Stadium.
Almost as soon as Wednesday night's series-opening 50-6 flogging was over, Blues coach Brad Fittler was telling his players it would mean little if they didn't back it up.
And players know he has every right to point that out.
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In each of the past four years the Blues have had the biggest winning margin in any game of the series, but lifted the Shield twice.
Just last year they flogged the Maroons 34-10 in Game II in Sydney but lost the series with a shock 20-14 loss in the Suncorp decider.
Likewise, they only managed to sneak home with a James Tedesco buzzer-beater in the 2019 decider after putting the cleaners through Queensland in Perth a few weeks earlier.
NSW also only snuck home in 2018 after dominating the series opener in Melbourne, while a 28-4 job on the Maroons at Suncorp Stadium in Game I of 2017 also went to waste.
"I've won the first game of the series before and lost it so you don't want to get too far ahead of yourself," prop Jake Trbojevic told AAP.
"It means nothing if we don't back it up.
"We've got to go to Suncorp in two-and-a-half weeks. We're under no allusion with how hard that will be.
"That's what it's all about now."
Queensland's cauldron of Suncorp Stadium could somehow present a more welcoming reception than what the Blues experienced in Townsville.
Fittler remarked on Thursday morning that his players were close to the only men wearing blue in the whole stadium, with only 500 tickets purchased from NSW.
Brisbane should have slightly more NSW fans from over the Tweed, but the Blues have not wrapped up a series at Suncorp since 2005.
The Maroons will also have Josh Papalii and Kalyn Ponga available, while Christian Welch was a big loss to a concussion after just 12 minutes on Wednesday night.
Welch is known as the best suited forward to shut down Nathan Cleary with his quick line speed, while his absence was felt as the Maroons lost the ruck badly.
"In Queensland style they normally get past these ones pretty quickly," Fittler said.
"They always rely on the crowd at Suncorp and they have always done a good job for them.
"It's a huge challenge for us.
"We haven't beat them while I have been coaching at Suncorp Stadium.
"We've got two weeks to wait and it will be a pretty big challenge for us."
Meanwhile, the Maroons are happy to take some kind of solace from the way they have turned things around quickly in previous years.
"I know the scoreline reflects pretty poorly on us but it is only 1-0," captain Daly Cherry-Evans said.
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