State of Origin 2022: New South Wales coach Brad Fittler targets up-tempo response in Perth for game two

New South Wales coach Brad Fittler says the Blues will have a need for speed when they head to Perth in an attempt to square up the State of Origin ledger. The Blues will head to Perth with the series on the line after Queensland held off a series of late raids to prevail 16-10 at Accor Stadium on Wednesday night. 16 of Queensland’s 22 Origin series wins have come after they have claimed game one and Fittler was under no illusions at the task ahead of the Blues. Fittler said he felt his side were consistently slowed down at the rucks, which allowed Queensland’s defence to flourish, and they would look at upping the tempo in game two. “It’s always tough. If you lose the first one obviously, you’re up against it. We’ve got to travel to Perth, have a week of preparation there and then we’ve got to win it in Queensland,” he said. “I thought they won the ruck, they did a really good job there. (Cameron) Munster came up with a couple of valuable steals at crucial times, but outside of that, once we generated some speed we looked pretty strong. “Playing off slow rucks is a pretty hard thing to do. They did a good job, got in tight and held on.” By comparison, Queensland set the pace and were quick to get the ball moving upon the end of their phases, with Melbourne Storm star Cam Munster in particularly fine form. Maroons coach Billy Slater paid tribute to Munster’s efforts, but said his side’s ability to win in the margins proved the difference. “The game Cameron Munster played, he is in a really good place at the minute, he is great to have around, is playing some exceptional footy and we want the footy in his hands,” he said. “We want the footy in Cam’s hands, but everyone’s got a role in our team; it’s not just give Munster the ball, that doesn’t work. “I’m really proud to be the coach of that group of players. There’s not much between these two teams - it’s State of Origin; there never is.” Queensland captain Daly Cherry-Evans said there was no room for complacency and they knew the clash in Perth would require their best efforts. “It’s always nice to get off with a win to start a series, but that’s what makes Origin so special: it’s the best of three,” he said. “We’re going to enjoy it, because Origin is hard to win and it’s against good opposition, but I think we will all go away, take that confidence back to club footy and come back knowing the job’s not done.” The NRL has cleared the handling of Isaah Yeo’s head knock despite Munster claiming it didn’t take rocket science to know the NSW lock should have left the field. The fallout from Yeo’s series-opening tackle continued on Thursday, with NSW advisor Greg Alexander admitting he also thought the Blues star should have been taken off and the incident had affected the player. In a brutal first hit, Yeo’s head appeared to make contact with Josh Papalii before he fell backwards and lost his balance in retreating to the line. He was also assisted by Blues teammate Tariq Sims as he regathered stable footing, before resuming his place in defence. Yeo was allowed to stay on the field, with the NRL’s independent doctor only wanting a category-three on-field check rather than requiring a 15-minute off- field check with a category two or ruling him out of the match with a category one.