Emotion almost led an infuriated Andrew Johns to put his hand up to clean up NSW's mess and take over as head coach after a catastrophic collapse saw them blow the 2017 series.
Taking a 1-0 advantage onto home soil in game two, the series looked to be wrapped up with the Blues leading 16-6 at half-time until Johnathan Thurston's magic boot sent it to a decider for QLD to later steal the shield at Suncorp Stadium
Johns' post-match tirade created three weeks worth of headlines, describing their second half meltdown as the dumbest half of Origin he’d ever seen.
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After the series defeat, Johns was a shattered man and before going live on air he turned to Phil Gould to vent.
Speaking on his Six Tackles with Gus podcast, Gould shared that he had to talk Johns out of irrationally volunteering to become NSW's coach as the Immortal avoided being baited by a pair of Queensland legends.
"Andrew Johns, he was maniacal after [Origin] games when we'd lose. I had to settle him down," Gould said.
"After the game, it was the funniest thing I've ever seen in my life because we've come in after the game and we'd lost another series.
"Andrew Johns is sitting on the panel and there's Paul Vautin and Wally [Lewis], the two smart-arse Queenslanders up the other end there, all head wobbles and giggles.
"Andrew sits down and he said, 'This is disgraceful. I can't stand this, I can't stand all this losing. We're going to have to change this, we're going to have to change this, we're going to have to change this'.
"And Fatty says to him, 'Well, Andrew, why don't you coach them?' Being a smarty, as Fatty is.
''Andrew says, 'I'll coach 'em! I'll coach 'em! Give me the job'.
"And I said, 'Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!' I said, 'Settle down'. He said, 'What?'
"I said, 'Don't, no, no. Just be careful what you wish for there, Andrew. No, no, no, no'.
"He said, 'Oh yeah, alright, alright'.
"So of course, we go live on air and what's the first thing Fatty says? 'Andrew, do you want to coach the Blues?'
"Andrew says, 'No, I don't think I need that pressure in my life'.
"I'm sitting on the end of the thing laughing my head off. Hilarious.
"But that's how passionate they are about it."
A dejected Johns encapsulated the frustrations of the entire state over the best part of the last decade, comparing Queensland's winning mentality to the half-hearted effort displayed by the Blues.
"I felt sick," Johns said when asked about the game by Paul Vautin.
"It was so hard to watch.
"I still don't think New South Wales get it. They just don't get it.
"There were times there when the ball was thrown back inside and we just switched off.
"You think the ball goes past you and 'my job's done'...you can't give up. You can't give up in Origin footy.
"And that's what we have to get the mentality of. It's not about set-plays and fancy plays.
"Cooper Cronk spoke about will and desire. That's what wins these games.
"I looked at these teams on paper before and I think New South Wales, on paper, they had a much stronger team. I thought they had a much stronger forward pack.
"But the game's not played on paper."
Johns eventually offered his help in an unofficial capacity, joining Brad Fittler's brains trust as an assistant coach.
He has been spotted at training running attacking drills and setting up plays, but his main role is consulting with NSW's playmakers.
