THE NSW Blues seem to think, talk and worry a lot about Queensland fullback Reece Walsh. It's like a fixation bordering on a dangerous obsession.
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Dangerous for Walsh in that he got knocked senseless in State of Origin I and was gone for good from the game after just seven minutes and dangerous for NSW in that concentrating too much on him risks allowing his teammates more freedom.
It's already cost the Blues one game in a best-of-three series. They were never going to beat Queensland with 12 men against 13 for 73 minutes.
I get it, Walsh is a superstar. He can make things happen the vast majority of players can't even dream of doing. But Origin is where all the superstars gather, isn't it? It's not like he owns a trademark on the description at that level.
Sure, opposition teams have to at least try to find a way of limiting his impact, but my concern is that with NSW - outwardly, at least - it seems to be all about combatting him physically.
And, as we've already seen, there is a massive risk involved in that if you don't get it right EVERY time.
Put big shots on him all night if you can be spot on with your timing and technique, but be prepared to pay a price - and potentially a huge one - if you get it wrong at any stage.
Remember, Walsh is quick on his feet and he's short in stature. And he's tough, which means he doesn't back away from putting himself in the firing line.
Get it wrong and that is a recipe for disaster for a defender who is likely already cutting it fine in a bid to make a crunch tackle on him.
Were the Blues slightly over-cooked in the preparation for Origin I?
They clearly targeted Walsh from the outset, which, as I said, is fine, and legal, if you get it right.
Second-rower Liam Martin got away with a crunch body shot on Walsh while he was still in the air after kicking downfield very early on, but then centre Joseph-Aukoso Sua'ali'i got it terribly wrong with his seventh-minute shot on the same player.
Sua'ali'i saw an opportunity to put a big shot on Walsh as he offloaded and didn't hesitate to take it. But he connected shoulder to head. It didn't matter that Walsh had slipped slightly, it was all Sua'ili'i's responsibility.
None of the NSW players, Sua'ili'i most definitely included - he's a tremendous mix of skill, athleticism and toughness - would have gone out with the aim of hitting Walsh in the head. It would've been rugby league suicide.
But it's OK for a practiced enforcer like Martin to go about the business of putting on big hits designed to legally hurt his opponent. That's what he routinely does - he cuts people in half.
It's different when it's a 20-year-old like Sua'ili'i, playing in his first Origin game. He's a much bigger chance of getting it wrong.
It's clear that NSW are going to go after Walsh again in Origin II at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Wednesday night and try to put him off his game by intimidating him physically.
Quotes in the media from Martin this week made that clear.
"We'll make it tough for him," he said. "He'll certainly know that from the first minute of the game."
"He's such an integral part of their team - you have to go after him. Nothing will change (in Melbourne). You never intentionally look to hurt or injure anyone, but that physicality will still be there.
"It is everybody's role to go after him pretty much."
Again, fantastic if you get it right. But which player do you think is going to be under the brightest spotlight in game two?
Certainly, in the Queensland side, it will be Walsh. Everyone will want to see if he can bounce back in his first game since Origin I. And everyone will be keeping an eye out to see if anyone breaks the rules in going after him.
The NSW player in the brightest spotlight will be Latrell Mitchell, but I'll come back to the Blues centre.
I get it, Walsh is a superstar. He can make things happen the vast majority of players can't even dream of doing. But Origin is where all the superstars gather, isn't it?
It was only the Neanderthals who couldn't see that Sua'ili'i had to be sent off for his hit on Walsh and they don't matter.
There had always been the belief that there were different rules in Origin, but those days are clearly gone. The match officials will not hesitate to act again if they feel the need.
The Blues must find a way to limit Walsh's impact through tactical means, as well as physical, and it's the responsibility of coach Michael Maguire and his brains trust to formulate such an approach.
It can be done. Penrith did it in last year's grand final. Walsh was kept very quiet in the first half. He came into the game during Brisbane's second-half comeback, but was exposed when lazy in defence on Panthers half Nathan Cleary's match-winning try.
Getting back to Mitchell, judging from the way he has spoken in interviews this week he is in a great head-space for his Origin return after three years away from that arena. But he, too, can be a risk.
Mitchell can let his emotions get the better of him when he reacts to a teammate being wronged. Rushing in to grab and shove opponents, leading to a melee, is a short-cut to the sin bin. He needs to exhibit control in that critical area.
The Blues have their backs up against the wall and the brilliant footy Mitchell is capable of is what they need more than ever from him. There's no doubt he's in the right mood to produce.
