Matabele
Journey Man
Meanwhile, Blues front-rower Brent Kite has admitted he has struggled to come to terms with State of Origin - at least compared with his strong form at Test and NRL level.
Kite has been under pressure to keep his position in games two and three, saying he was "happy just to be picked again".
The Manly prop conceded his form had been down, adding he had found Origin football harder than any other.
"I thought I could have missed out. Going down 2-0, I thought maybe there would be a few changes as a general perception but that didn't happen," Kite said. "I have to make the most of it now. It is the highest level as far as rugby league goes. I have played a couple of Tests now but this is the last, not frontier, but level I would like to do a little bit better at than I have."
Asked what had been holding him back, Kite replied: "The Maroons."
Then the 26-year-old added: "It's just harder to get an offload, it's harder to get those extra couple of metres because the nature of the game is so much tougher, and no one wants to give an inch and everyone is coming with their best game, whereas on the weekend, out of 17 maybe four or five might have an off game.
"It's just a matter of effort for me. I feel like I'm giving close to my best and it isn't quite good enough, and I just have to keep persisting. It's just a matter of trying to be more effective while I'm out there."
Kite said winning next Wednesday night was crucial to enable the Blues to wrestle some momentum leading into next year's series, with the Maroons on a four-match winning streak.
"We don't want to go down five games in a row," he said.
"It will be a good test to be disciplined enough to turn up when the series is gone and have a real crack."
Kite has been under pressure to keep his position in games two and three, saying he was "happy just to be picked again".
The Manly prop conceded his form had been down, adding he had found Origin football harder than any other.
"I thought I could have missed out. Going down 2-0, I thought maybe there would be a few changes as a general perception but that didn't happen," Kite said. "I have to make the most of it now. It is the highest level as far as rugby league goes. I have played a couple of Tests now but this is the last, not frontier, but level I would like to do a little bit better at than I have."
Asked what had been holding him back, Kite replied: "The Maroons."
Then the 26-year-old added: "It's just harder to get an offload, it's harder to get those extra couple of metres because the nature of the game is so much tougher, and no one wants to give an inch and everyone is coming with their best game, whereas on the weekend, out of 17 maybe four or five might have an off game.
"It's just a matter of effort for me. I feel like I'm giving close to my best and it isn't quite good enough, and I just have to keep persisting. It's just a matter of trying to be more effective while I'm out there."
Kite said winning next Wednesday night was crucial to enable the Blues to wrestle some momentum leading into next year's series, with the Maroons on a four-match winning streak.
"We don't want to go down five games in a row," he said.
"It will be a good test to be disciplined enough to turn up when the series is gone and have a real crack."
