After 39 State of Origin games, Cameron Smith thought he was a pretty good judge of Queensland's mood.
But the Maroons skipper admitted he saw nothing that indicated something was amiss ahead of their record 28-4 Origin I loss in Brisbane.
However, Smith insisted the signs were good for the Maroons ahead of game two in Sydney on Wednesday night.
The once-dominant Maroons are at a crossroads after their worst Origin defeat at Suncorp Stadium.
Smith conceded he didn't see it coming.
"No, not at all. We actually trained really well that week," he said.
"I think we had three dropped balls for the entire week.
"Our execution and intensity was fantastic.
"At no stage going into that game did I feel worried."
Smith would be forgiven for feeling a little more concerned after Queensland wielded the axe after game one, making seven changes and blooding four debutants.
However, Smith said there were no signs of panic in the Queensland camp as they looked to keep the series alive and try to extend their remarkable run of 10 title wins in 11 years.
"Just on the night it didn't happen for us," Smith said of the series opener.
"It's not a common thing for this side to do that.
"It would be nice to win every game but it can't happen.
"The equation is still the game. We need to win two to win the series.
"We still have a chance to do that and we are confident we can."
However, Smith said NSW set the bar high for game two.
"A lot of their players played probably the best game of their careers - Andrew Fifita, James Tedesco, David Klemmer," he said.
"They were all very good that night but the others did their jobs also.
"Unfortunately that wasn't the case for our side, that's where we need to be better."
Returning Queensland fullback Billy Slater expected NSW to be even better in Origin II.
"NSW just ran away with it in the second half in game one - we are coming up against a really committed NSW side," he said.
"It would be naive to think they won't improve on that first game.
"So we are certainly going to have to improve a fair bit but I think we have that in us."
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