Maroons assistant coach Josh Hannay lifted the lid on the bold selection calls that defined Queensland's State of Origin comeback in Games II and III.
"I think first and foremost, after Game I, people talk about pick and stick," said Hannay on SEN’s Saturday League Kick-Off.
"But the reality is the performance was such that night that we felt compelled to make changes."
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The 45-year-old admitted that Queensland's brains trust were dissatisfied almost immediately after their performance in the series opener at Suncorp Stadium.
"We didn’t like what we saw, and those discussions started within half an hour after that Game I," he said.
"We really started to look ahead based on what we thought we saw... the review process backed up our gut feel on certain things."
Hannay admitted all the changes carried risk - and ultimately only winning could justify them.
"The only thing that vindicates the decision is the result," he said.
"Only winning validates them."
Hannay also shared insight into a pre-selection discussion with head coach Billy Slater ahead of Game III.
"I had a conversation with Bill... and it was a fairly robust conversation to be really honest," he said.
"We didn’t agree on everything. Reece Walsh, certainly his name came up.
"Bill trusted his instinct on putting Hammer to fullback.
"At the end of the day, it’s Bill’s call... once we made the final decision, we were all on board with it and invested in getting the best out of that squad."