Nathan Peats was so determined to play out his State of Origin debut, he battled through the pain of a badly corked thigh.
The Blues rookie No.9 was struggling in the second half after copping a Will Chambers knee to his leg.
NSW coach Laurie Daley was preparing to replace Peats with utility Jack Bird when it became obvious centre Josh Dugan, who had not played in a month, was out on his feet and needed a rest.
Peats refused to come off and delivered a message to Daley through the trainers that he was right to see out the 80 minutes.
"For a guy on debut in the middle, I thought he was great," Daley said.
Asked if he ever contemplated coming to the bench, Peats said: "Nah. Nah. The first half was pretty solid, the ball was in play for 25 minutes or so.
"I was struggling in the second half. Everyone get corks. They're probably one of the worst non-serious injuries."
Peats was outstanding, delivering crisp service out of dummy-half, making a game-high 49 tackles and he now shapes as NSW's long-term hooker.
"I was really excited. It was everything I expected," Peats said.
"It was the toughest game I've ever played.
"In the first half, it was at an unbelievable speed. I'm just grateful to get through and hopefully I can get selected again."
The Gold Coast dummy-half said he was extremely unlikely for his club's NRL clash with North Queensland in Townsville on Saturday night after being injured in the Origin series opener.
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