NSW were thumped in Game II of State of Origin allowing six tries and losing 32-6 at Suncorp Stadium.
Brad Fittler’s firing looks imminent as the NSW Blues lost their second consecutive Origin series following a string of questionable coaching decisions.
Like Game I, the Blues could not make the most of their fair share of attacking opportunities, with the side lacking patience around the QLD Maroons' try-line.
After yet another disappointing performance and series, Brad Fittler was honest about his side’s shortcomings as he faced the brunt of the Blues’ criticism.
MORE: NSW Blues Game 2 player ratings | QLD Maroons Game 2 player ratings
“I thought we had fight in us, but they were just better," he said.
"Their polish was better, and their defence was better, that’s about it.”
Fittler seemed calm in his presser despite being on the end of another series loss.
“I didn’t think we were that far out of the game, and we got beat by four or five tries.
“Outside of the moments that they scored the tries I thought we competed, and we fought hard. I was happy with the rest of it.
“At the end of the day Queensland’s defence was very good,” Fittler conceded.
Fittler didn’t provide excuses for the Blues’ performance but did acknowledge the Maroons' sketchy second try.
“The touchy was in a really good position to call it, it was a bad call.
“They beat us by more than a try though - I’m not sure that would have made a difference.
“The first couple were questionable, but at the end of the day it wouldn't have made a difference I don’t think.”
Did Brad Fittler use his interchange bench correctly?
With Tom Trbojevic going down with a pectoral injury only three minutes into the contest, Damien Cook was given the role of centre for the remainder of the game.
MORE: Trbojevic injured only minutes into State of Origin
The Channel 9 commentary team commented multiple times on why Cameron Murray or another back-rower wasn’t shifted to the centres instead.
When questioned about his interchange bench, Fittler was dismissive.
“I’m not going to talk about interchanges, at the end of the day Cookie did a pretty good job at centre,” Fittler said.
“He beat Val Holmes a couple of times.
“You can’t cover every position, it’s impossible.
“I thought Reece Robson did a great job, he’s an Origin player.”
Fittler admitted that the injury to Trbojevic changed the game significantly.
“It had a huge impact, definitely."
“It changes the way you interchange, and what we were trying to do.”
Will Brad Fittler coach in next year’s Origin series?
At this stage, it is unlikely Brad Fittler will be the NSW Blues head coach in 2024.
When fielding questions about his future, Fittler tried to turn the focus to Game III.
“We’ve got another game to go, I’ll worry about that, then we will see what happens,” Fittler said.
“I’m just going to worry about the next game, we have a couple of weeks, and it will give us an opportunity to tidy things up and turn things around.
“We can discuss things then.”
Although the future of Brad Fittler as Blues head coach has likely already been decided, he will want to end his tenure with pride with a win in Game III.
