He scored a try, went within inches of producing one of the all time great Origin moments with his 80-metre chase of a runaway Dane Gagai and a Michael Jennings fingernail of scoring a potential match-winner.  

Coach Laurie Daley said post-match that his pursuit of Gagai will “keep getting shown in years to come,” and that “it was an Origin moment for us that we’ll show pathway players and the ­senior boys as well.’’

Not bad for a guy deemed not ready for Origin in game one. A guy who needed Wade Graham to get suspended to get a guernsey for game two. It was one of the few reasons Blues fans had to smile on Wednesday but, in the wash-up, Frizell’s performance it highlighted the true extent of Daley and his staff’s failings this series.

On Wednesday the Blues looked like the band on the Titanic – they played their hearts out til the bitter end but the ship was always going down. 

It’s hard to imagine a playing group more dejected, more lost for answers than the Blues after their 6-4 loss in game one. There was not a shred of optimism despite the fact they’d finished a try apiece against this great Queensland team. They’d already crumbled under the weight of nine losses in the previous 10 series’.

The suggestion that all NSW can do is simply wait out ageing future immortals Cameron Smith and Jonathan Thurston can’t be allowed to hide a series of selection missteps and contradictions from the Blues. The ‘squad’ rather than a team picked for game one, an attempt at smoke mirrors that was laughed at north of the border and by plenty if people south of it.

Daley wanted to stick with guys who’d “done the job before” but also opted for a rookie in Dylan Walker who was out of form in a team coming 14^th. Frizell couldn’t make the final cut while Graham and Jack Bird, who looked the man most likely to break open the game for the Blues in game two, didn’t get a blue Armani suit at all. 

Bryce Cartwright was a “development player” for games one and two while Daley’s predecessor and long-time teammate Ricky Stuart’s refused to release Joey Leilua to fill the same role – he’s played 131 NRL games, leads the NRL in offloads and is second for tackle busts. Pick him or don’t but don’t patronise him was the message in a nutshell.

There simply has to be wholesale changes for game three. Paul Gallen, Robbie Farah and Greg Bird are terrific players but they have to go for a line to truly be drawn under this dismally unsuccessful Blues era. 

Denying Gallen a Sydney swansong would be an indignity Daley won’t want to inflict. Vanquished sides often win dead rubbers, particularly at home, but is one last hollow trundle for some old-stagers worth more than the Blues (and his own coaching) future? That’s the decision facing Daley – blood some Frizells now or pick a team full of debutants next year. 

Unfortunately, Daley has indicated he’ll go with the former rather than blood some young guys.

“I’d rather them play when you know they’re ready rather than thinking they’re ready,” Daley said. “I harp back on my own experience, I wasn’t ready, and I don’t want that happening to our young guys.’’

Young guys like Frizell? Like Bird? It seems Daley is content to play the violin as the ship goes down.