Combinations forged at South Sydney hold the key to NSW avoiding the dreaded State of Origin series whitewash, as coach Brad Fittler rethinks plans to translate Penrith's premiership success into the Origin arena.
At Accor Stadium on Wednesday night, NSW will go 80 minutes without any Panthers player in their spine - a first for Fittler's six series in charge.
Ten Panthers players have represented the Blues during Fittler's tenure, with the coach naming seven of those since the side's drought-breaking premiership year of 2021.
But with Blues' attack misfiring all series, Fittler has gone back to the drawing board, cutting Panthers five-eighth Jarome Luai and dropping lock Isaah Yeo to the bench in favour of Rabbitohs counterparts.
Yeo and ex-Panther Api Koroisau have previously taken command of the middle, but Souths pairing Cameron Murray and Damien Cook will do so from lock and hooker in Origin III.
Throw in second-rower Keaon Koloamatangi to play on the opposite edge to Luai's replacement Cody Walker and South Sydney's influence will be felt across the park.
"It's going to help knowing that we've spent a couple of years together building those combinations so we don't have to come in here and start from scratch and do it in a week and a half," Murray said.
Just as the Panthers faced criticism for struggling to score points earlier this season, so too have the Blues been haunted by execution woes in 2023.
The halves came up with only two try assists across the first two games as NSW managed only four tries in total - their fewest in the opening two matches since 2017.
The inclusion of Walker aims to flip the script. The five-eighth has produced more try assists than any other half this season, having finished the season in the top-three in that category every year since 2020.
"He's probably been the in-form half of the year, to be honest, especially the last couple of months," Koloamatangi said.
"He makes it look so easy. Some of the stuff he pulls off is crazy.
"We see it every day at training, we just know that's what he's about. I'm sure he'll put on a big performance next week."
Walker believes Murray's influence will be just as vital.
The Souths captain has been used sparingly from the bench this series and as an edge back-rower in previous years.
Wednesday's match marks the first time he will start at lock for the Blues, freeing him up to provide the link between the edges and take on a bigger role in shaping the Blues' attack.
"Cam's one of the best locks in the game," Walker said.
"He has that quick play-the-ball, he has that ball-playing ability that not many players in the NRL have.
"With Cooky coming off the back of that, we know each other's game like the back of our hand."
