Queensland rugby league great Wally Lewis has urged Maroons fans to be patient for at least "the next couple of years" with the young stars coming through as the Blues press their case for Origin's next dynasty.
Heading into next week's Game Three, Maroons coach Paul Green named five new faces from the losing side in Game Two, headlined by the returns of Kalyn Ponga and AJ Brimson, and the selection of rookie speedster Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow.
Having been outscored 76-6 in the first two games, Queensland are once again the outsiders, with the bookies tipping a clean sweep for the Blues, who have now won three of the past four Origin series.
One thing the Maroons can look forward to is their future, according to Lewis, with the state boasting a long list of rising stars under the age of 24. Ponga (23), Harry Grant (23), Brimson (22), David Fifita (21), Tino Fa'asuamaleaui (21) Sam Walker (19), Tabuai-Fidow (19) and Reece Walsh (18) are just some of the young crop who have been selected or are now finding their names tossed up.
"There is no doubt some of the talent coming through in the Queensland team is enormously talented, they will be there for quite some time," Lewis told Wide World of Sports' QLDER.
"They're also going to have to have the P plates on for the next couple of years and will need to remember they're playing against a New South Wales side that is fantastic and has benefited by having so many teammates from the one club.
"Penrith has been the backbone of the New South Wales team so far, and indeed the NRL success rate.
"We will be able to get there, but I do think it will take Queensland a couple of years to be back into the extremely competitive list."
One young gun Queensland fans will be anxiously watching is Tabuai-Fidow, who has been named at centre, opposite Blues superstar Tom Trbojevic.
The young Cowboys star, who can play anywhere in the backline having previously lined up at centre, wing and fullback for the Cowboys, has five tries and nine line-breaks for his club through nine games this season.
"Is he good enough [to contain Trbojevic]? Not so far, but he needs to be for this game," Lewis said.
"He's going to be enormously nervous, there's no doubt at that. He's a very quiet and gentle character.
"But boy, can he run! When he takes off, he's one of the speediest guys in the NRL.
"To see the battle that will be going on between he and his opponent is certainly going to be one of the great challenges of the night and will make people want to watch it to find out.
"He certainly earned selection. He has less than a season of first-grade football.
"Going through vision, it was great to see his ability to be able to sprint, to go from standing still to top pace in the space of seven or eight metres. He was enormously quick.
"It's going to be a real challenge, he will be enormously nervous but I think he will have the guidance of plenty of teammates that will assure him that he deserves selection."
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