Isaah Yeo has admitted the Blues still have significant improvements to make heading into Game 2 of the State of Origin series, despite producing a dramatic 22-20 comeback win over Queensland in Sydney on Wednesday night.
Captaining the NSW Blues, Yeo led a side that was forced to endure two completely different games in the space of 80 minutes, one chaotic and error-ridden, the other defined by resilience and composure when the match was on the line.
The opening half was a struggle from the outset for NSW.
Errors piled up coming out of their own end, and midway through the first half, they had yet to complete an attacking set inside opposition territory after coughing up possession three times in their own 30 metres.
Queensland capitalised devastatingly, racing to a 20-0 lead in just seven minutes and leaving the Blues staring down the barrel of a heavy defeat in front of a stunned Sydney crowd.
When speaking to the NSW Captain after the match, he admitted just how bleak things looked during that stretch of the match.
“It is really nice to get a win, it was looking pretty dire there in the first half,” he told Zero Tackle.
Even as the scoreboard pressure mounted, Yeo said the challenge was trying to keep the group steady and prevent frustration from snowballing into more mistakes. But he conceded the Blues struggled to arrest the momentum early on.
“I try to stay as calm as I can, although it might not have been working too much because we kept compounding it, but I just love the fight,” he answered on how he responds as a captain in these moments.
“I love that we can get a try in that first half that steadied the ship a little bit, and then the second half, we were able to control that period where Kalyn was sent off.”
The first turning point came when NSW finally earned some reward for pressure, with Hudson Young crashing over in their first meaningful attacking set to get the Blues on the board and stem the flow.
From there, the contest shifted. The Blues began to build confidence, while Queensland's grip on the game loosened after the controversial send-off of Kalyn Ponga in the final 20 minutes. With the one-man advantage, NSW were able to control territory and gradually drag themselves back into the contest before completing the comeback.
Despite the dramatic turnaround, Yeo was quick to highlight that NSW cannot afford to rely on rescue acts if they want to reclaim the Origin shield.
“We didn't execute completions, we just put ourselves under too much pressure to start,” he said.
“They are too good if you give them opportunities down on their line. We could also be a little bit more resilient in that space, but we were putting ourselves under too much pressure.”
He also pointed to the early imbalance in possession as a key issue that allowed Queensland to dictate terms for long stretches of the first half.
“You love to see that 50/50 per cent of that ball from both teams after 20minutes, but I don't think that was the case at all,” Yeo admitted.
Still, the premiership-winning lock reserved praise for the way his teammates responded once the game tightened, particularly after the Blues were forced to absorb pressure and grind their way back into the contest.
“I have had some nights here where it hasn't been so fun against the opposition, so I am super proud of the boys,” he said.
“There are things to fix, but you would rather fix them one win up”
As the dust settles on Game 1, NSW walk away with a crucial series lead, but also a clear understanding of how close they came to letting it slip. For Yeo, the message is simple: the fightback was impressive, but the standard to start games must rise significantly.
With Game 2 looming, the Blues now face a balancing act: holding onto the belief and resilience that got them through, while eliminating the errors that nearly cost them the series opener altogether.
