Blues prop Mitch Barnett boasts an enviable record at Suncorp Stadium, claiming his third win in three State of Origin matches as New South Wales defied the critics to clinch the 2026 series.
The Warriors co-captain is not headed to Brisbane until next season to play with the Broncos, but already has forged unforgettable memories at the ground, capped off by winning his second series decider in three years.
“It's a cool feeling,” Barnett said after soaking in the 30-12 win.
“I haven't really thought anything about that, I'm just happy we got the win tonight.
“We’ve won a decider here twice in three years, I think we've won here three years in a row.
“I don't think it matters where we play or anything like that, I just think if we can play our best, we can put a performance in that we're proud of.
“We were building towards that and we got it done.
“Just proud of everyone's effort.”
Heavily criticised for their poor performance in their heavy 44-24 lose in Game Two at the MCG, Barnett said the performance was more about showing themselves the type of football they could produce after an arguably ‘lucky’ comeback in Game One and following loss.
“No one gave us a shot tonight and we proved a lot of people wrong,” Barnett said.
“The main thing is, we proved ourselves right and we knew we had had what it takes and we got the job done at the end of the day.
“We were building towards that performance.
“We started (the series) bad, we improved in the second game, but then finished bad, and then we got it right tonight.
“Origin is the best players in the world, they take their opportunities when they're presented, so you just got to show them as little as possible.
“Tonight we took our opportunities and we put pressure on Queensland and we got the result, that's the main thing.
“Winning the field position battle (was important), (forcing) little errors and we put fatigue into them. That's what we did and we got them tonight and couldn't be happier.”
There was also a lot of scrutiny on coach Laurie Daley, with some commentators and Blues fans calling his coaching and selections into question.
“We played for Loz, we played for ourselves, we played for our state, like we played for our families everything combined,” Barnett said.
“It was a decider. It doesn't get any bigger.
“I'm just grate grateful that we could get the result for him tonight because he didn't deserve it and now he can silence them.”
Match: Maroons v Blues
Game 3 -
home Team
Maroons
away Team
Blues
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
