SOME people might say Queensland just couldn't handle favouritism, but the truth is that a NSW side prepared by the No.1 coach in the game - Craig Bellamy - was much more ready for State of Origin I than they were.

Six of the champion Melbourne side Bellamy coaches were playing for the Maroons, and only three for the Blues, but even that didn't matter. In direct contrast to those numbers, NSW were at least twice as good as Queensland.

The Maroons didn't really deserve anything out of the first half, though they did improve over the last 15 minutes of it. When they did finally score, it was just before the break, Brent Tate forcing a Johnathan Thurston grubber as the half-time siren went.

But, even though it cut the NSW lead from 14 points to four, the timing meant it had the potential to be at least as good for the Blues as it was for the Maroons, because it should have served as a reminder that it is never over until it is over in Origin.

Queensland pride themselves on their ability to win against the odds, so even if they didn't get the pre-match underdog status they prefer - and which has been almost exclusively theirs since Origin began - they were back up against the wall with 40 minutes to go.

The Maroons had taken a long time to get into any sort of gear. Halfback Thurston's first kick of the match was low and only went 35 metres, and his next couple weren't any better. The Blues were working the ball through hands with far more assurance. Makeshift five-eighth Karmichael Hunt was making some big hits in defence, but he wasn't doing much to help get the ball rolling in attack.

NSW played down their left-hand side for their first two tries, both scored by winger Anthony Quinn. One came brilliantly through the hands, with five-eighth Greg Bird creating space by throwing a cut-out pass to Ryan Hoffman, and the other was the result of a well-executed kick from halfback Peter Wallace. The Blues were getting from their halves what the Maroons couldn't get from theirs.

Queensland had to work harder than NSW to get field position, and were more prone to coming undone through poor options, dropped balls or misjudged kicks. But at least that try in the death throes of the first half gave them hope - and, as we all know, hope springs eternal north of the border.

The feeling at the break was that if NSW were going to go on and win, they were going to have to survive a revival from Queensland first. It came. The Maroons made a few breaks and picked up on a few errors from the Blues. But they couldn't get any points out of it. Too many times, their attack broke down because of a misunderstanding between teammates, a plain dropped ball or great defence.

Eventually, the Maroons began to run out of steam, which is most unlike them. They looked like a badly beaten team in the last 20 minutes, and the Blues finished them off when Anthony Laffranchi scored a try in the 68th minute, to make it 18-4.

Queensland pride themselves on sticking by their team and not making many changes. Even when they lose, they don't go overboard. But if Darren Lockyer isn't fit for Origin II at Suncorp Stadium, then Scott Prince will surely come into the side at five-eighth. And if Lockyer is fit, they might still find room for Prince on the bench, instead of P.J. Marsh.

The Maroons need some spark, or the Blues will need just the first two games of this series to extinguish their flame.