Queensland Maroons head coach Billy Slater has revealed putting Xavier Coates back on the side he usually plays on, and the balance of the footy team, was behind his backline shuffle ahead of Game 2.
Coates, who played on the right-hand side in Game 1, was shuffled to the left for Game 2, with Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow becoming the right winger.
The Dolphins star was exceptionally quiet at centre in Game 1, but that wasn't the case on Wednesday evening in Perth as he scored the first two tries of the game.
The change also meant Valentine Holmes wound up back in the centres, and a new defensive combination was formed on the right-hand side between Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and young gun Robert Toia - the same side where Blues left winger Brian To'o had a field day, scoring a hat-trick.
But Slater was happy with the combination, and said the move was about getting Coates back to his usual side of the field, even if Coates did have a quiet game.
"Xavier Coates plays on the left-hand side all the time. We just felt that it was the best look for our footy team. That's what we do, we analyse our game, look at our players and try to build Queensland's best footy team," Slater said during his post-match press conference.
"If that's changing people around, and people have to work in with the footy team and put the team first, that's what happens.
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"The players have had a great attitude this week, and whether a player has moved from the starting team to the bench, or switched sides, switched positions, there hasn't been one whinge. We are playing for Queensland at the end of the day, wearing the Maroon jersey, and that has always been the first and foremost thought in our minds, so that's the priority."
The coaches move paid off with a win in Game 2 that has forced a live decider in Sydney, but the Maroons will undoubtedly need to be better heading into Game 3 after letting their foot off the gas - and the Blues back into the game - during the second half having led 26 points to 6 at halftime.
