The New South Wales Blues scored more tries than the Queensland Maroons on Wednesday night, but an awful first half and no accuracy in front of goal means they will still head to Sydney with the series on the line in three weeks time.
The Blues might have copped an 8-0 penalty count in the first half, but in the words of their captain, they were their own worst enemies.
And that's not exactly difficult to understand.
Errors, poor completion rates, and a lack of willingness to scramble in defence despite being up against a wall of possession saw New South Wales head into the halftime break 26 points to 6 behind.
Areas of the Blues, simply put, will need to be built different in Origin 3.
They almost mounted the biggest comeback in State of Origin history, but it wasn't to be, falling two points short after kicking just two of five.
Now the attention will turn to that all-important Game 3, and whether New South Wales need to weigh up making any changes.
And the answer, at the very least for consideration, should be yes.
There were simply too many issues in Game 2 that were exposed after being papered over the top of by a win in the series opener.
The chief among them is an attack that, at times, looks one-dimensional and unable to throw all that much at the Queenslanders.
And yes, they scored five tries on Wednesday night, but that doesn't mean all is well.
Nathan Cleary was clearly hampered by a groin problem, and is in no danger of losing his spot, but if he isn't 100 per cent fit to run the kicking game, the he simply shouldn't be there.
It's as easy of an equation as that.
Coach Laurie Daley seemed impressed with Jarome Luai, but that won't fool the majority of pundits.
The Wests Tigers star was awful. He put his first kick of the night out on the full, made a bundle of errors, gave away a dumb penalty, got put on report, and missed a stack of tackles.
Simply put, he looked underdone. Maybe a full Origin preparation can fix the issues, but it should be Matt Burton walking into the number six for Game 3, with a gurarantee from Parramatta in the last 48 hours that Mitchell Moses will not be fit to return from the calf strain he suffered in camp last weekend.
With the halves sorted, the Blues will need to consider other areas of their line up heading to Sydney.
The back five were below par, but probably all survive. That all said, New South Wales' creative brains trust must find a way to get Latrell Mitchell early ball, and quality ball.
He has been almost absent during the opening games of the series, despite being one of the great X-Factor selections in the centres during his previous Origin performances.
Most of the forwards too will survive.
There is no chance Payne Haas, Reece Robson, Angus Crichton, Liam Martin or captain Isaah Yeo get dumped out of the side.
Max King is less certain, but he had an excellent Game 1, and is unlikely to lose his spot in the side.
The bench could be another issue altotgether for the Blues. Connor Watson and Hudson Young, who had more impact than just about any Blue when he came off the bench, should survive.
If Spencer Leniu was picked as far out of form as he was for Game 1, then he is no chance of being dropped either
But along with Luai, the other player to lose his spot for Game 3 should absolutely be Stefano Utoikamanu.
Credit where it's due, Laurie Daley simply followed the chain of progression for Game 2 when Mitch Barnett - whose loss was felt by the Blues more than anyone will care to admit - went down with an ACL injury for the New Zealand Warriors in recent weeks.
But Utoikamanu should never have been ahead of Terrell May, or for that matter, Keaon Koloamatangi who was originally included in the extended squad before copping an injury of his own.
The fact Koloamatangi has been named on the extended reserves for South Sydney this weekend suggests he will definitely be fit in time for Game 3, and so either he or Terrell May simply must come in for the Blues.
May has been the competition's form prop, only really losing his mantle to Koloamatangi in the last couple of weeks.
The Blues lacked punch and impact in Game 2, and if one of them doesn't play the decider the same could well happen.
Coach Daley seemed to indicate during the post-match press conference that changes are the furthest thing from his mind at this stage, but revelations he has now spoken with May, as well as Koloamatangi being on the radar by way of reserve selection for Game 2, suggests both players may not be that far away.
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