New South Wales Blues coach Brad Fittler has suggested he will not worry about his future as the state's Origin coach until after Game 3.
The Blues lost the series on Wednesday evening in Brisbane, with a 32 points to 6 humbling dished out by a dominant Queensland Maroons outfit.
It means the final game of the series will be a dead rubber in Sydney, with the Blues now needing to avoid being just the eighth team in Origin history to be swept.
The last sweep was in 2010.
Fittler, who has lost three of the last four series in charge with only a win in 2021 breaking the sour streak, said after Wednesday night's loss that he wouldn't worry about his future now, although did admit conversations will occur with the board after Game 3.
"We have another game to go, so I'll worry about that and then we will see what happens with the board and we will check it out then," Fittler said.
Fittler said he was viewing Game 3 as an opportunity to turn things around.
"I'll just worry about the next game," Fittler said when pushed further over whether he expected the board to keep the faith.
"We have got a couple of weeks, have an opportunity to tidy things and turn things around, and then we can discuss it then."
The NSW Origin coach has been widely slammed for the state's performances this year, with a number of questionable selections headlining the series.
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Despite that, Queensland coach Billy Slater labelled Fittler a "great coach," stating that he "understands Origin."
"Freddy is a great man, he is a great coach," Slater said.
"I played against him in 2018, and in 2019, he was in this position. We are very quick to forget that. He has done a great job with that team, to bring them together and to create a culture and get out into the community. He understands Origin. Don't foget that."
Fittler now has the difficult task of getting the Blues up for a dead rubber on home soil on July 12, but said he wouldn't entertain whether changes were needed yet.
"No idea. I think what we have got to do is wait and see who is fit and healthy. The one good thing is we went into tonight healthy, but we will see who is fit in a couple of weeks and go from there," Fittler said on any possible changes for Game 3.
Teams for Game 3 will be picked on July 3.
“Freddy is a great man, he is a great coach… He has done a great job with that team, to bring them together and to create a culture and get out into the community. He understands Origin. Don’t forget that.”
A piece of advice for you, young Billy. It’s always prudent to be polite and offer compliments when they are not deserved, but don’t gush so much that you lead others to ask themselves if you are really just laughing behind your hand.