NSW have fallen short in the State of Origin opener, allowing two late tries with Queensland down to 12 men and forcing them into a tough situation heading into Game II.
Brad Fittler was criticised for his selections heading into the series opener and the performance of the spine was a major letdown, with the likes of Nathan Cleary and James Tedesco both struggling.
The clunkiness in attack, despite a large chunk of the NSW playing together for the past few years, was a major concern that even the coach couldn't shy away from.
Speaking to the media post-game, Fittler was asked if he was surprised by the Blues' attacking efforts and admitted his disappointment after hitting the front with less than 15 minutes remaining.
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“I was actually… I may have to go back and see what they did in defence too," he said.
"It felt like we had enough opportunities to adapt and I was a bit disappointed. We seemed to have a lot of good ball.
“When we got to the front, I was pretty excited. Although things didn’t look that smooth, we got to the front and got a restart and from there it just went downhill.
"The last 10 minutes we didn’t handle very well at all – especially when they were down to 12. I will go back and look at how that all happened.
"I thought we were in control… it just sort of went backwards."
Andrew Johns criticises 'terrible' NSW Blues attack
NSW legend and assistant coach Andrew Johns didn't mince his words in the post-game fallout, taking aim at the Blues and their lack of points despite the weight of possession and field position.
Despite numerous opportunities throughout the night, NSW could only muster up three tries and two of them weren't exactly clinical pieces of play.
“Their attack was terrible," Johns told Channel Nine.
"They had so much momentum and so much possession. There was one really good try for Liam Martin when the halves got together, Api Koroisau scored a dubious try and Stephen Crichton scored off a kick.
"With all that field position… you’ve got to score. Queensland’s scramble was sensational and they were courageous – but you’ve just got to be better.
"I thought NSW were really poor."
NSW skipper James Tedesco was also quizzed on the side's attack and while he admitted there was some clunkiness, didn't think they were ever out of the game.
“I’m not sure, I felt like it wasn’t smooth but we fought our way back into the game through hard work and effort," the captain said.
"We just didn’t nail some big moments and they did... it felt like we were in control.
"We wanted to be patient in the last 10 minutes, but after the dropout we didn’t get the ball back and it went downhill from there."
Will NSW make any changes for Game 2?
At this stage, NSW aren't expected to make wholesale changes to their side for Game II at Suncorp Stadium.
However, the late head knock for Tom Trbojevic will see him miss the next 11 days, which could be offset by the likely return of Latrell Mitchell out wide for the Blues.
“It’s a fair way away… Turbo is out for 11 days, he got a HIA," Fittler said.
"There’s a few blokes that came off injured, so we will see what happens in a couple of weeks.
"I will catch up with him [Latrell] over the next couple of days and see how he is going. He said things were going pretty good, so hopefully he is fit and ready to be picked."
Fittler said the initial plan was to bring Hynes on at dummy-half, but lauded the performance of Api Koroisau in the middle.
“There was always the option at hooker, but I thought Api was doing a good job there," he said.
"Having someone versatile there, you’ve got to wait for an outside back to get injured."
