ANDREW JOHNS'S message to Peter Wallace is: "Stay calm."

Wallace will be thrown to the wolves in his State of Origin debut. The 22-year-old rookie halfback has spoken during NSW team meetings about the perceived weaknesses in the Broncos teammates he will attempt to dominate in Origin I - and the Broncos in the Queensland camp have returned the favour in brain-storming sessions about Wallace north of the border.

They have vowed to pummel him.

The Maroons are shocked NSW have given such an important role to such an inexperienced soul. Wallace has played only 29 first grade matches. Just 13 games ago, he was playing reserve grade for Penrith. When Kurt Gidley was ruled out of the NSW team due to injury, the Maroons were convinced Newcastle's Jarrod Mullen or Parramatta No.7 Brett Finch would be the replacement.

The Maroons believe Wallace will be shocked by Origin's breakneck speed. They're convinced they can rush him into mistakes. They want to invoke panic. They've talked about how he's used to having a lot of time to kick, and have vowed to halve that time. They will swarm from the opening whistle, convinced that by the time he's regained his composure and acclimatised himself to the league's toughest arena - if he does - it'll be too late.

Stay calm.

"I'm sharing a room with him," NSW five-eighth Greg Bird said.

"I'm learning a lot about him, actually, what he's all about. He definitely deserves his spot as far as I'm concerned. He's a really relaxed guy. He hasn't let nerves hit him too much.

"They'll pick up for him the closer the game gets but all his actions - just the way he moves around, even the way he's responded to what Joey [Johns] has been telling him - he's been quite confident.

"We've both got a lot of responsibility. You just have to know you're prepared for whatever circumstances are thrown your way."

Johns has told Wallace what to expect. The deafening noise from a crowd much bigger than anything he's experienced. The way maniacal Maroons forwards will try to tear him to pieces. They have talked tactics, working on kicking and passing and the rest of it, but his greatest challenge will be in his own head.

Stay calm.

Johns, the greatest halfback of all time, has worked extensively with Wallace and Bird during the week.

"Joey has been awesome for both of us," Bird said.

"He knows how to do it all. He knows how to read defence, he knows how to read attack. They way he used to play is similar to the way he coaches, I think. He makes everything simple. Even the hardest things, he just strips them back so they're basic."

Former NSW No.7 Peter Sterling wrote in a column last week that Wallace's selection left him "gobsmacked," describing it as a "stunning gamble." The bottom line - is Wallace up for it?

"A young guy like him, telling blokes like Willie Mason and Danny Buderus and Craig Fitzgibbon what to do - that's a little bit hard. So we've tried to make it as comfortable as we can for him. As we're going, he's seeing different things that he needs to do for this team," NSW coach Craig Bellamy said.

Stay calm. The more people tell you to, the harder it can become.