Where New South Wales lost the Origin wrestle

“I thought the whole game we didn’t really win the ruck much at all. They did a pretty good job there and we were a bit generous,“ Fittler told Channel 9. “It was a lot of slow play-the-balls and that made it pretty tricky.

“We’ll have to change tack a little bit. There’ll be a lot more wrestling done. It just shows, when you own the ruck and do a good job there, the rest of the game gets a little bit easier. So we have to be a lot better in that area.”

The Melbourne Storm influence was all over Queensland coach Billy Slater’s debut tactics.

Storm coach Craig Bellamy has built his legacy on the back of winning the ruck, and Slater is a disciple of his methods.

Fox Sports Lab’s numbers show seven Maroons forwards had more than 50 per cent of their play-the-balls considered ‘fast’ (measured at 3.5 seconds or less).

In comparison, the Blues had only three players.

Queensland back-rower Kurt Capewell was the standout performer, registering 12 out of 16 play-the-balls as fast (75 per cent).

“You fight tooth and nail for every advantage you can get in a game,” Capewell says.

“Whether that’s a quick ruck or whether that’s metres. We just want to run hard, tackle hard and do our best for our state.”

The other measure of ruck speed is the ability to stay facing forward and on your feet in the tackle.

Again, the Maroons outperformed the Blues in that facet in Origin I.

Six Queensland forwards were standing or facing forward after the tackle was completed more than 50 per cent of the time. Debutant Patrick Carrigan led the way with three standing and eight front-facing ends to tackles from his 17 attempts.

Conversely, the Blues only had one forward, Payne Haas (76.92 per cent), manage a standing or forward-facing tackle more than 40 per cent of the time.

Fittler knew his opponents were winning the ruck and nothing he tried was able to counteract it.

“We got a lesson in ruck control,” Blues assistant Greg Alexander told SEN on Thursday.

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Players in both sheds acknowledged how tight a contest the game was for the first 20 minutes.

The territory battle remained even with the Blues holding a slender lead after Jack Wighton crossed in the corner – however, it had taken its toll on the players.

“Up until that first try it was really quick,” Ben Hunt says. “Both teams couldn’t get a grasp on the ruck control and it was pretty fast.”

It’s why the introduction of utility hooker Harry Grant at the 22nd-minute mark proved so crucial.

Hunt confirmed there was no set plan for the Storm dummy-half’s introduction. Slater was always going to bring him on for either Hunt or Reuben Cotter when he felt the moment was right.

“Reuben is a bit of a machine so I was the one to go,” says Hunt.

Grant changed the game. His ability to make the most of Queensland’s quick play-the-balls was evident as he often charged at only one marker and gave his halves more room to work with.

Queensland also began to make more metres and it’s no surprise they scored all their points while he was on the field.

“Harry’s impact was outstanding,” said Capewell. “It was on the back of a lot of our quick play-the-balls and [only] one marker for him.

“You give him that opportunity, he puts the icing on the cake.”

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It was in stark contrast to what the Blues were able to achieve in attack.

Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai have had so much success at the Panthers when Api Koroisau has given them more room to be versatile in attack.

NSW hooker Damien Cook had his moments on Wednesday, but because of the Maroons’ ability to slow the ruck down, the Blues’ attack often felt lethargic. On a number of occasions, by the time Cleary and Luai had spread the ball wide, Queensland’s edge defence had already rushed up and shut down any chance of an advantage.

In those first 20 minutes, Grant sat on the sidelines knowing he could break the game open. As he listened to the 80,000-strong crowd – his first Origin experience in NSW – he just had a straightforward game plan.

“It was pretty simple, just to be involved, run and bring a bit of energy,” Grant says.

“I think the big boys did a great job for us with some of their defensive efforts to then turn up and have carries in attack. I think that’s what State of Origin is all about.”