On the surface that appears an extraordinary situation, considering the criticism coach Laurie Daley's team have received in the current series.
However, no NSW side has ever won back-to-back Suncorp Stadium deciders.
The Blues side in 2024, which contained nine of the players in the current side that will contest the Origin decider on Wednesday night, won game three 14-4.
Only the great 1994 and 2025 NSW teams had previously won a decider at the Maroons' spiritual home in Brisbane so Daley's men have a once in a lifetime chance before them, if they are good enough.
Daley knows what it takes to win a Brisbane decider. He had a blinder in 1994 to send Blues legend Ben Elias out a 27-12 winner.
" (The NSW players) understand what's at stake. They know that they haven't played their best footy. Their best footy is coming," Daley vowed.
Daley has recalled second-rower Liam Martin and centres Stephen Crichton and Bradman Best for Wednesday night's showdown. All three were brilliant two years ago, with Best scoring a try for the ages to seal the win.
"The players themselves, I want them to feel it again. Two years ago when they won up here, that was pretty special," Daley said.
"You want to try and recreate that for them. Any time you win a decider, it's really special, in any Origin series. It's a wonderful achievement if you can win up here.
"But there's a lot of work to be done between now and when we get to 10 o'clock tomorrow night. The way we're tracking, the way we've built into it, I'm just confident we're going to give our best performance."
Captain Isaah Yeo knows what is on the line. He tasted the spoils of victory in 2024 and his team has copped stick throughout the current series from critics.
"It would certainly silence a lot. I am so confident in this group," Yeo said.
The Blues have had "little periods" of brilliance this series, but a 2024 decider display is required.
"Ultimately it comes down to 80 minutes," Yeo said.
NSW are also on the cusp of winning three Origin matches in a row at Suncorp Stadium, a feat achieved once before when the Blues were able to notch four wins on the trot between 1996 and 1998.
The Maroons, who won last year's series with a deciding away win in Sydney, have always embraced an underdog mentality and favouritism has never sat well with them. Former players, such as ex-captain Gorden Tallis, have been vocal in their distrust of the "favourites" tag.
Current captain Cameron Munster, who missed the 2024 series with injury, tried to revert to script last week.
"The pressure is on us," he said.
It is a theme the skipper doubled down on at his captain's press conference, just to make sure everyone had got the message.
"Their backs are against the wall and they've had a lot of media criticise them," Munster bristled when asked if complacency had crept in.
"We know they're coming to Brisbane for an ambush and we're up for the challenge.
"If you can't get yourself up for a game like this, then I don't know why you're playing."
While Queensland's record in deciders overall at home is strong, the coach has driven home that the romance of the stadium won't be of any help.
"The venue means a lot," Billy Slater said.
"What's happened in the past, whether it was three weeks ago, 12 months or 30 years, is nearly irrelevant.
"What happens in the 80-minute performance will decide the outcome."
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