KEY POINTS:
New South Wales and Queensland might talk about their mutual hatred - Willie Mason rarked things up again by saying a full-house of "nutbag, redneck Queenslanders" at Suncorp Stadium will lift the Blues - but they could hardly be closer.
After 82 games, including a Los Angeles exhibition in 1987, each side has 40 wins, and there were two draws. Not only that, each has 12 series wins with two drawn.
But wait, as a home shopping advert would say, there's more. NSW have scored 1302 points to Queensland's 1285 and the Maroons have 225 tries to the Blues' 223.
"It's amazing," said rugby league historian David Middleton. "No one can explain it but it keeps happening.
"Whenever one state appears to have the upper hand and there are predictions of dominance, the opposite tends to happen. The underdogs rise above themselves while the perceived favourites might take things a little too easy."
In 2006 it was suggested NSW were on the verge of a dynasty. They had won the previous three series, took the opening match 17-16 in what was described as one of the most one-sided one-point wins in Origin history and were up against a Queensland side supposedly ripe for the picking.
Of course, Queensland won the series in 2006, as well as 2007, and were supposed to be creating their own dynasty in 2008. That was until they were upset 18-10 three weeks ago.
Queensland dominated throughout the 1980s, winning eight of the 10 years, although the first two were only single games before it went to a three-game series in 1982.
NSW had a better time of it in the 1990s, winning Origin six times, but in the 26 years since Origin went to a three-game format, a clean sweep has been achieved only seven times.
The biggest winning margin was achieved in 2000, when a NSW side described by some as the greatest Origin team in history recorded a 56-16 win in game three in Sydney.
That, though, was an exception rather than the rule. An incredible 39 of the 82 games have been won by six points or less.
"I think State of Origin is a great example of the emotional side of the game being the most important aspect," said Graham Lowe, who coached Queensland in 1991 and 1992. "I was at the first game at Lang Park [in 1980] and that game was won by emotion and it has been the same ever since.
"For the first few years New South Wales could match Queensland physically but it was the mental side they couldn't cope with. They slowly caught up and it has been mental ping-pong ever since."
Lowe was famed for being the ultimate motivator and it was this aspect he focused on when he took over from Arthur Beetson in controversial circumstances in 1991 to become the only non-Queenslander to coach the Maroons.
"Teams at this level need to be given a reason, and a very good reason, as to why they should do it," he says. "I worked a lot with the players on the need to protect Wally Lewis' status in the game because he had been dumped by Brisbane and was at Gold Coast and was playing his last Origin series.
"I worked on how the great names of Queensland can turn to dust if they're not protected. We have the advantage of television to build the legend but the players are the one to make the legend."
As it turned out, the Queensland side played for Lowe as well in the third and deciding match.
The former Kiwis coach took ill and missed the first two days of training, during which time Lewis gathered the players around the phone in his hotel room to hear Lowe's first team talk being delivered from the intensive care unit of hospital.
Queensland went on to win the decider 14-12 at Lang Park, with current Maroons coach Mal Meninga landing a sideline conversion to claim the title and give Lewis the sendoff he deserved.
Meninga is on the other side of the ledger these days as Queensland coach and he could do worse than recall that game in an effort to inspire his side for Wednesday's second match in Brisbane.
If they can win on Wednesday, there is one significant anomaly which could scupper Queensland's chances this year.
If they are to force a series decider, it will be at Sydney's ANZ Stadium where they have achieved only one win and a draw in 13 games there since 1999.
