Latrell Mitchell has capped an incredible return to the State of Origin arena, scoring a double as New South Wales destroyed Queensland 50-6 in Townsville.
Mitchell was unceremoniously dropped by coach Brad Fittler following the first match of the 2019 series, then missed last year's campaign in November due to a severe hamstring injury.
The superstar terrorised the Maroons with and without the ball in a dominant performance, which was just pipped for official man of the match honours by fellow centre Tom Trbojevic.
He crossed for two second half tries which added to his two try assists, almost 200m with ball in hand and a number of strong defensive reads which snuffed out Queensland attacking raids.
Mitchell said he was thankful for the opportunity to pull on the blue jumper again.
"Unbelievable feeling to come up here to Queensland and get my first win for the Blues. I can't thank the team enough, can't thank the selectors enough, Freddy [Brad Fittler] for believing in me," he told NRL.com.
"I have a lot of good people in my circle and I think I have paid them back."
The 23-year-old jokingly said he was 'rusty' playing back in the centres and that he 'forgot how to tackle' but was overall stoked with the performance of the team that silenced the 27 thousand plus pro-Queensland crowd.
"It was a bit quiet out there I could hear all the New South Wales supporters going for it."
Speaking in the post-match press conference, Blues coach Brad Fittler praised Mitchell's effort.
“Latrell’s run early in the game when he went up the sideline, it was a big moment. And his tackle when he came in as well, they were a couple of huge plays," he said.
“Everyone agrees it’s great to see him play, he’s a good player, he does some great things on the field. It was awesome to have him out there."
Manly's Trbojevic was also outstanding, scoring his second hat-trick at the level, while Penrith debutant Brian To'o crossed for a first half double.
Queensland captain Daly Cherry-Evans was noticeably shattered after the match but remained optimistic.
"Tonight's damage was pretty big but it is only one-nil. I know the score-line reflects pretty poorly upon us, but the reality is it is only one-nil," he said.
"There are two games to go so we can turn the tide, but they've got a lot of momentum in their corner and we've got a lot of work to do ... I do believe we can get out of this."
