State of Origin II

To paraphrase Gus Gould "wow". Just wow. What we saw on Wednesday night at ANZ Stadium will just about revolutionize rugby league.
NSW went in with just two recognised props and six back rowers to try and counter Queensland's all-conquering pack.
And it worked beautifully.
It seemed all night that whenever a tackle had to be made, there wasn't one New South Welshman there, but two and three.
In attack the Blues were able to spark heaps of second-phase play and run the visitors off their feet.
Don't expect five-time champions Queensland to abandon their tried and tested formula of two 'traditional' props on the field and another on the interchange bench in the decider. Fair enough.
But they looked very tired fairly early on in an passionate, gritty, emotional clash. Perhaps, for once, NSW really did want it more.
One Blue who did want it more was skipper Paul Gallen, who turned in one of the great individual performances.
Gallen was moved from lock to prop last night as the centerpiece of Ricky Stuart's risky but successful gambit.
The Shark's response? 240m gained from something like 20 hit-ups and 30 odd tackles ... Without a breather. Wow. Just wow.
Naturally, Gallen was named man of the match and I don't think there would have been a dissenting voice amongst the 81,000 in attendance.
Halfs Mitchell Pearce and Jamie Soward set up a try a piece and both improved their kicking games in the second stanza after struggling first-up.
Comeback kid Anthony Minichiello scored the match-winner while debutant Will Hopoate and supersub Luke Lewis also crossed the stripe on a day that will be fondly remembered in the Premier State for years to come.
One of the most pleasing things was that NSW gave up a softish try but didn't look like buckling in the final 60 minutes.
Thanks to Stuart's passionate build-up, there is a steel to the Blues that was missing during their five series losses in a row. This team believes they can win.
And thanks to Stuart, they have a game plan they can rely on. A new way of approaching the game, even.
Will there be a point where a traditional prop goes it alone as a line bender while a flotilla of mobile but smaller team-mates try to get fast play-the-balls and keep the game going?
If it means NSW end the half-decade of Queensland dominance, I'm all for it.