League: Meninga's mountain

History can sometimes play such a significant role that it takes on the spectre of an extra player.

If Queensland didn't have enough to deal with considering New South Wales are heavy favourites for the three-game series starting on Wednesday night, the Maroons are also suffering under the weight of history.

Having lost the past three series, Queensland are staring at an unprecedented fourth straight defeat.

If that wasn't enough, Queensland have also been contemplating the fact they have never beaten NSW at Telstra Stadium since the venue hosted its first Origin game in 1999.

The 18-18 draw in 2002 was the closest they've got, and NSW's record there has even surpassed the one Queensland achieved at Lang Park between 1987 and 1992 when they were victorious at The Cauldron in eight-straight games.

"It's a huge challenge, isn't it?," Meninga contemplated this week. "It's just another obstacle for us to overcome and that's what Origin footy is all about. We have to win there sometime and Wednesday is a good time to start."

Few people, though, are giving Queensland much hope, especially given the fact the new Origin coach has drafted seven rookies into his squad. Meninga is also something of a rookie himself considering he has limited coaching experience and success in front of the chalkboard.

He has, however, adopted some of the tactics that were so successful in his playing days, like mateship and mentors.

One of his strategies in camp this week was to bring in a host of former greats like Wally Lewis, Allan Langer and Paul Vautin to inspire his players.

And if the Maroons do manage to take it to a series decider, it will be played at a neutral venue, Melbourne's Telstra Dome.

Although the State of Origin has lost some of its lustre since the glory days of the late 1980s and 1990s, when flying fists were greeted as heartily as Lewis or Laurie Daly weaving their magic, it's still an event that stops a nation - well, the rugby league-mad eastern half, at least.

Since that first game at Lang Park in 1980, when a 20-year-old Meninga kicked seven goals to lead Queensland to an unexpected 20-10 win, it has developed into one of the greatest rivalries in modern sport.

NSW's dominance in recent times has also taken some life out of the event but it would surely roar back into the consciousness if Queensland could beat the odds.

The Blues will line up with 10 of the Australian side that thrashed the Kiwis 50-12 in the Anzac test, while Queensland have only three. But it's also a new era for the Blues considering they have a new coach in Graham Murray and will be without the world's best player, Andrew Johns, as well as Ben Kennedy - both having retired.

Craig Gower will attempt to fill his boots and the patchy Braith Anasta will play outside him at five-eighths after Trent Barrett made himself unavailable.

While some will focus on how NSW will cope without Johns, more interest lies in what is happening in Cane Toad country. And when Meninga gathers his troops for his final team talk on Wednesday, he would do worse than to borrow the words of Henry Ford.

"History," Ford said, "is more or less bunk. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker's damn is the history we make today."