State of Origin 2023: Mal Meninga, Laurie Daley share advice for under-fire NSW Blues coach Brad Fittler

But two men who know better than most what he's going through had some advice for the embattled coach.

Raiders great Mal Meninga coached the Maroons between 2006-2015, winning the shield nine times, including eight-straight victories, and lost just one series in 2014 to Laurie Daley's Blues.

While Meninga didn't have to go through many hard times as a winning Queensland coach, he sympathised with Fittler who has lost the last two series to the Maroons, and now has an overall record of 3-3 as Blues coach.

"He's just got to have faith in his beliefs and philosophy," Meninga told The Canberra Times.

"If you believe in what you're doing, then push that belief on the players.

"There's no dead rubber in Origin. They're playing in front of a home crowd and they'll want to have a good performance."

The Blues will be out to put pride back in the jersey in game three in Sydney after Queensland already secured the series win in Brisbane.

Injuries have certainly had an impact on Fittler's squad selections in this series, but the game three team drew the most criticism, putting the coach under even more pressure.

Fittler and his Blues assistant Greg Alexander have been bullish in the media about the squad named and are adamant they have the right formula to beat Queensland.

Meninga encouraged Fittler to stick to his guns and not let outside scrutiny get to him.

"Rugby league, harsh as it may be, it is only a sport and you move forward, so you try not to take it to heart," he said. "I know he's got a great passion for our game and also a passion for NSW.

"But all you can do is your best. You can't change opinion so you control what you can control."

Fittler's predecessor Daley credited what the former Panthers and Roosters star had implemented within the Blues since taking the reins in 2018 from the Raiders legend.

Daley lost four Origin series to Queensland while at the helm of NSW between 2013-2017, winning in 2014 alone.

Daley said Fittler needs to put aside all the speculation over his Blues contract and solely focus on winning game three.

"I'm so respectful of what Freddie has done," he said. "I think you've just got to make sure that you give him the chance to finish the series and then he will sit down and NSW Rugby League will make the decision.

"At times some of the [critical] coverage has been over the top, but I understand the scrutiny that comes with it because I know that when I was doing it, the same sort of thing was happening when you're losing.

"That's what Origin's about. Everyone's involved, and invested in it.

"Everyone's passionate about it and when you're not winning, you feel like everyone is into you. That's just what happens and that's the reality.

"I think you've just got to get used to that. Hopefully all the focus is on how NSW can win game three and salvage something out of this series."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: