The last time Roosters back-rower Boyd Cordner played at Suncorp Stadium in July he was wearing a jersey a few shades lighter blue and getting thumped by 46 points in Queensland's dominant victory in the Origin decider – a memory he is looking forward to avenging this weekend.
Alongside fellow Origin and club teammates Michael Jennings and potentially Mitchell Pearce, the three Roosters will look to produce better memories at the venue against five Broncos who played key parts in the Maroons' demolition job of New South Wales.
"Those not-so-good memories last time I was there," Cordner recalls. "I'd like to forget about that."
"Obviously it was definitely a night to forget. It wasn't the best of games. You do draw some motivation off it.
"It did hurt, emotionally there, for a while. You just had to put it behind you and forget about it and move on."
Cordner went on to add the best way to get past NSW's eight-tries-to-one crushing defeat – where he saw all but six points scored while he was on the field – was to outlast the Broncos in this Friday's preliminary final.
"I'm looking forward to getting up there, looking to make amends to try and wipe that bad memory," he said.
"We're confident. As a player, you look forward to playing in games like this. That's why you play footy.
"Obviously it's a bit different when you've got 50,000 fans booing at you than cheering for you. That's the biggest difference. But other than that, it's a good venue to play, it's a great atmosphere, and I'm sure it'll be no different on Friday night."
With the Roosters set for their second consecutive top of the table preliminary final Cordner didn't buy into the notion of the grand final coming one week early, but didn't shirk away from the challenge presented by Wayne Bennett's men.
"They've been the benchmark of the competition and that'll be no different. We know how massive the challenge is for us going up there. But we're looking forward to it, and we'll be ready," Cordner said.
"It's a grand final every week in the NRL. You can get beat by anyone on your day but then again it's a semi-final and our full focus is towards that this week. Whatever happens after that happens."
"Personally too, I've been pretty happy with where my footy's at. I think I've been pretty consistent all year, really. But it gets highlighted a bit more when you start to win, and people start to notice you a bit more."
