Blues legend Andrew Johns said he felt sick in the wake of the Blues' 22-6 loss to Queensland and refused to rule out putting his name forward to coach NSW next year if Laurie Daley were to stand aside.
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Following a stinging assessment of the Blues after their capitulation in game two, Johns declared that NSW "really don't get it" despite possessing what he believed to be a better team on paper than Kevin Walters' Queensland side.
"I feel sick at the moment," said Johns on Channel Nine. "It's just so hard to watch and you've got to applaud Queensland but I just don't think NSW get it, [they] just really don't get it. You can't give up on it in Origin footy and that's what we have to get the mentality of.
"I looked at the teams on paper before and I think NSW on paper had a much stronger team, I thought they had a much stronger forward pack. But the game isn't played on paper."
Asked by Paul Vautin whether he would consider taking on the Blues head coach role if Daley were to give it away, Johns was non-committal but didn't completely rule out the idea.
"I don't know, I can't answer that at the moment," Johns said while clearly thinking it through in his head.
Vautin asked: "What's stopping you from jumping into it and saying: 'yes, I want to do it'?"
Johns replied: "I don't know if I need that pressure in my life if we're going to be honest. I get a lot of excitement in other areas. I think it's a decision Laurie has to make."
