Queensland Maroons head coach Billy Slater has admitted his side were disappointed, but could find positives from their Game 2 loss in the 2024 State of Origin series.
In a game which was over by halftime, the Maroons were down 34-0 at the break, conceding six first half tries to a rampant Blues outfit.
Coming off a win over a 12-man side during Game 1 in Sydney, Slater's side were out-muscled by the Blues in Game 2 and never in the contest at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Slater admitted that the start of the game was on his sides as they battled a never ending tide of momentum going the wrong way.
"Yeah, I think the whole dressing room in there is pretty disappointed," Slater said during his post-match press conference.
"It was a tough old first half and it just felt like we were running uphill and couldn't stop the momentum of the game. Part of that is on us.
"We will look at our game and work out what we need to adjust and what we need to go after, and one thing I do know is that we have another game in three weeks time."
The Maroons did turn the tide after the halftime break, limiting the Blues to a single try during the second 40 minutes.
The Queensland coach said his side would positives out of that.
"I thought the second half was quite good. I'm not sure what the second half score was, but I thought we went after our footy a little bit more," Slater said.
"We were more patient and weren't looking for shortcuts to draw back the scoreline, so there are positives, but there were too many things in that first half that we didn't do as well as we would have liked and we all know that.
"It's a real positive that the group pulled themselves together at halftime after the fuel tank that they used and played the footy that they played, but we don't want to be in that position."
Captain Daly Cherry-Evans admitted his side were simply powerless to stop the Blues.
"Best described as a snowball and momentum swings. They were on top of us and we couldn't halt the momentum there, so there is a bit for us to work on," Cherry-Evans said.
"Origin is pretty physical. This one probably felt more physical because of their momentum so we will learn from tonight."
Game 3 of the Origin series will be played on Wednesday, June 17 at Suncorp Stadium.
