Greg Inglis is a rare talent.

OK, so there's no award for coming to that conclusion. After all, anyone watching league even for the first time last Wednesday night could see by the way he toyed with the NSW right-hand defenders that he was something special.

But I doubt maiden viewers, or even the faithful who follow the club footy each week, could really appreciate how extraordinary his efforts were given the elite level of State of Origin football, the quality of his opponents and the backs-to-the-wall position his team was in coming into this clash.

Origin brings together the elite. It truly is the best versus the best.

They are all great players regardless of how you think a few may have performed. I know sometimes some are exposed at this level and don't always perform to their best. But Origin has eaten up plenty of players in their early years who later returned to the fray and proved themselves to be absolute legends.

This is no place for the faint-hearted. They are all tough young men, even though some obviously display their toughness more openly than others.

I've always marvelled at just how good these players are and the outstanding level of football these games produce. Make no mistake, Origin football is 10 grades above anything we ever see in club football. It is five grades above anything the international game can produce.

The speed and strength of these super athletes is frightening. I was lucky enough to coach a few of these Origin teams and I often found myself standing silently alone in a corner of the training field and simply shaking my head in awe of their unique abilities.

On game night I used to love to watch these games from near the sideline instead of in the grandstand, where a coach should sit, because I loved feeling the impact and ferocity of the contest. It gave me an admiration for these players I doubt many will experience.

That's what makes influential players such as Wally Lewis, Alfie Langer, Andrew Johns, Darren Lockyer, Brad Fittler and Laurie Daley, for example, even better than you could imagine.

Plenty of others have dominated in their own position over the years, proving time again to be the very best of the best.

In time Inglis will be regarded as one of these players. Just think for a moment what he was up against before Wednesday night's game. Like all his teammates he had the pressure of needing to win to keep Queensland alive in the series.

He was marking none other than Mark Gasnier, who I regard as the best centre talent I have ever seen - no correspondence necessary.

Remember, too, that Gasnier absolutely towelled up Inglis in game one in Sydney and the young Queenslander got a fair bit of criticism as a result. He had his own demons to overcome as well as being part of the common cause for the team.

Champion golfer Ernie Els once said that to be a great golfer you had to have a very bad memory. In other words, when you are standing over the ball for a crucial shot, you want your mind to be free of the negatives from bad experiences or poor shots hit in the past. The truly great ones bounce back from the bad shot immediately and they all put this ability down to the development of a steely mental strength and self-belief.

Inglis shrugged all the negatives of game one aside. He took on the challenge of beating his opponent, Gasnier, as though this battle could decide the match.

He blew away Gasnier and with it NSW's chances of winning the series in straight sets.

Inglis is powerful yet moves with the grace of a top-line sprinter. His awareness is uncanny, his timing perfect. The awesome right-hand fend that flattens the tentative opponent is breathtaking in its force.

To Inglis's benefit, though, he was playing outside a five-eighth in Johnathan Thurston who knows his stuff and his service to Inglis was first class. He made sure Queensland's best attacking weapon got plenty of opportunity to showcase his wares.

In Gasnier's defence, he had some baggage to carry. He appeared to be feeling the effects of a recent hamstring injury. He was playing with a rookie winger outside him who was lost in defence. As I said before game one, you need a strong, aggressive winger playing outside Gasnier who can support him in any move he makes in defence.

I felt sorry for Steve Turner. He did his best but he was never the sort of winger for Gasnier. It's the selectors' fault, not Turner's, that he was put in this position.

NSW need someone on that right wing coming in and smashing the left-arm, ball-carrying side of Inglis before he gets mobile. Not someone giving him time and space to use his speed and fend to such great effect.

Finally, Gasnier is playing outside a five-eighth in Greg Bird who is not a No.6. Bird offers so little in attack, passing wise, that Gasnier was never going to get the service he needed. I think it's obvious to everyone now that Bird is playing in this position only to support the frail egos of influential people trying to prove a point.

I've heard some compare Bird to the great Wally Lewis. That ridiculous statement is an embarrassment to Wally and Greg.

Lewis, Lockyer, Peter Jackson, Kevin Walters, maybe even a Jason Smith, Brett Kenny, Daley, Fittler and Matthew Johns, who was handy, too; these are genuine Origin pivots. These are the best of the best. Bird is not in the same postcode as those playmakers.

Don't get me wrong, Bird is a good footballer. I love his toughness and he has a great ability to make crucial breaks using his low-to-the-ground strength and sharp footwork. At this level he is a perfect fit as an interchange back-row forward who can come on when the opposition is tired and win you a game.

If used properly, he can be a great asset. To continue to use him in a makeshift, ball-playing role and even attempt to use his extremely limited kicking skills at this level is irresponsible - particularly when there are better options available.

Anyway, I know we are all looking forward to the decider on July 2.

I just can't wait to see the third head-to-head confrontation between Inglis and Gasnier. Like the series score, this little battle also stands at one apiece.