He was left annoyed by a couple of misreads that led to opposition tries, but in the end Maroons prop Tim Glasby was able to celebrate his State of Origin debut as Queensland stormed home to stun the Blues 18-16 in Game Two on Wednesday night.
The 28-year-old was one of four Queensland debutants in the make-or-break game and it was his selection that raised the most eyebrows south of the border by those who couldn't appreciate the subtleties that have defined his time at the Storm.
Picked for his defensive nous, Glasby was caught out twice by the Blues with James Maloney speeding past him to set up Brett Morris before he was again exposed through the teeth of the ruck when he chased Jake Trbojevic too hard, allowing the Sea Eagle to pass inside to James Tedesco who released Mitchell Pearce for the try.
Most rookies would have let the demons eat away at them, but according to Glasby, the tabloid jibes never crossed his mind.
"I was just angry that they scored. At the time I wasn't even sure if it was because of a misread or something like that. All I was thinking about was getting into that next set and doing my job," he told NRL.com.
"Because of the speed of the game I suppose you turn out to put some pressure on Trbojevic and I didn't see 'Teddy'. It was a wider pass and I needed to recognise that and steady up a bit. It was a bad read at the end of the day, but it didn't come to a lack of effort. On another night Josh McGuire makes that tackle and everything is fine.
"I was quite happy with most of my game. There was obviously that play where James Maloney burnt me. He's a bit quicker than me so I'll cop that one. That other one where I went out on Trbojevic, I obviously didn't see Tedesco there.
"I suppose we'll review all that and hopefully I can play in Game Three and improve on those little moments. Apart from that, I was very happy."
Glasby finished the game with 72 metres and 21 tackles in a 26-minute stint off the bench, which was somewhat surprising given most people assumed he would start in a bid to nullify Andrew Fifita's dominance in the ruck.
Glasby, who splits his time either starting or coming off the bench for the Storm, has a simple approach no matter his role.
"You just have to take the same mentality," he said.
"You make sure that your first actions – no matter what they may be – you make sure that they're good quality. I have the same attitude at the Storm when I'm on the bench and I just try to make sure that my first involvement is quality."
Making the occasion even more special was the fact his wife, Casey, and their baby, Parker, were in the crowd to watch his debut.
"Running out with the boys was a dream come true. When I first got on the field it was a pretty amazing feeling," he said.
"I had a fair bit of a family including my wife and my little fella so it was pretty amazing having them all here."
