Hail the hero - teammates Craig Gower and Steve Menzies
embrace NSW mastermind Andrew Johns after a Blues try last night

Some people thought Andrew Johns couldn't do in Brisbane what he did in Sydney - that when he took the Joey show on the road he wouldn't be as influential in the State of Origin series decider as he was when he orchestrated the win by NSW in Origin II

Those misguided fools

The great players are capable of turning it on anywhere and at any time
After that it becomes a matter of how much they want to do it on the night

Superstar halfback Johns wanted it badly at Suncorp Stadium last night
He was sensational as the Blues thrashed Queensland 32-10 to join a rare group of teams that have won a series after losing the first game
Queensland have done it twice and the only other NSW team to have achieved it was the 1994 side, in which current Blues coach Ricky Stuart played halfback

Johns left the field in triumph with 12 minutes to go, finishing early as a reward for having done his job in extraordinary fashion
He had a hand in all six Blues tries, to go with his having had a hand in all five tries in the second game of the series, which NSW won 32-22 at Telstra Stadium to level the series

NSW fell behind in the series when they were beaten 24-20 in extra-time in game one at Suncorp Stadium

"It's a great feeling," Johns said after the biggest Origin win in Brisbane by a NSW team. "That's what Origin is all about"

Johns praised the Blues team as a whole and said a challenge from Stuart made sure they went on with the job after breaking away to a big lead
"Ricky gave us a great half-time speech," Johns said
"He said, 'This could be the biggest embarrassment of your rugby league career if you lose it from here'. This side is a great side. It doesn't have any weaknesses"

Stuart never tried to hide the size of the challenge his players faced leading into the game, to try to win a decider away from home, and his approach proved spot-on
"I said to them, 'Everyone who plays Origin is a good player, it's who is mentally tough that gets the result'," said Stuart, who described the Blues as "very superior" and Johns as "very dominant"

The Maroons were able to get on the scoreboard only after Johns left the field, halfback Johnathan Thurston finally breaking the home side's duck with a try in the 74th minute and fullback Matt Bowen adding another three minutes from full-time

Johns was brought back into the Blues team for Origin II only after selected halfback Trent Barrett was injured at NSW training
Johns had played only one game in two months because of a broken jaw and the NSW selectors weren't prepared to go with him when the team was first named
They thought that, because of his lack of preparation, it was better to wait for game three
But he answered the emergency call superbly and with two magnificent performances back-to-back has established himself as the NSW equivalent of Queensland's Origin hero Wally Lewis

The opening stages of last night's match were extraordinary for the pressure the Queensland attack put on NSW and the tremendous manner in which the Blues repeatedly repelled it
NSW had the first set of six and completed it in regulation fashion, with five-eighth Braith Anasta putting in a clearing kick downfield
But over the next four minutes Queensland had five straight sets as a combination of NSW mistakes and refereeing blunders conspired to keep the Blues on the rack
The fact NSW held up under enormous pressure set the tone for a game in which the Blues simply refused to be beaten
The glut of early possession to Queensland finally ended in dramatic fashion when Queensland five-eighth Darren Lockyer tried to find the in-goal with a kick to end the fifth straight set and Blues fullback Anthony Minichiello, who had a fantastic game as well, pounced on the ball and took off over 85m
Matt Bowen chased Minichiello and cut him down to prevent the try, but the trend had been reversed in emphatic fashion and it never looked like turning again

Now it was NSW's turn and they turned their pressure into points
It was innocuous enough to start with, second-rower Craig Fitzgibbon kicking a penalty goal in the ninth minute, but a treble of tries in the 21st, 27th and 31st minutes had the Maroons reeling as they went to the half-time break trailing 18-0

Queensland looked clueless as to how to deal with the problem as the Blues got on top

The most animated the Maroons got as the Blues were racing away from them was when, in the 30th minute, they believed NSW second-rower Ben Kennedy had taken a dive to win a penalty

The demolition continued after half-time and Queensland coach Michael Hagan was left to watch in awe as Johns - the star he coaches at Newcastle - continued to carve up his side
"Joey was outstanding for them again," Hagan said. "And he was playing in a great side, too"