Trent Merrin admits he feared more State of Origin heartache but NSW coach Laurie Daley's decision to pick him for game two is a massive boost to his confidence.
The St George Illawarra forward was twice left of the Blues' side for a series decider by Ricky Stuart in 2011 and 2012 and was concerned history might repeat itself for the June 18 encounter at ANZ Stadium - with NSW needing a win to end Queensland's nine-year dominance.
Merrin played in the 12-8 win in game one in Brisbane but the return of Greg Bird and the excellent displays by Ryan Hoffman and Beau Scott left Daley with the conundrum of axing either him or Tony Williams from his bench.
But after clocking up a staggering 264 metres in a 46-minute spell for the Dragons on Saturday against Cronulla, the 24-year-old did enough to convince Daley to keep faith and, 24 hours later, he received the confirmation call from the coach.
"It's always on the back of your mind, but you just have to show some confidence that you can do your job and hope for the best," Merrin told AAP.
"Whoever was going to take the position was going to do a job for the state and the team and I am real happy Loz has the faith and trust in me and I am definitely going to repay that."
Merrin played in the Dragons' side that lifted the 2010 premiership in his first full season but admits next Wednesday's game will be rank alongside it as the biggest of his career.
"This is a chance to make history and what better place to try and do it but on home soil?" he said.
"It will be one of the biggest tasks I have ever come up against but I have so much belief and faith in the boys that we can get the job done."
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