Mitchell Moses has hit out at criticism of NSW coach Laurie Daley and defended his own fitness as the fall-out from the Blues' game two loss continues.
Moses will play his 250th NRL game on Thursday when Parramatta host South Sydney but on meeting the media on Tuesday, the Eels halfback was inundated with questions about the Blues' underwhelming 44-24 loss last week.
NSW must now rely on a game three decider in Brisbane on July 8 to clinch the series after blowing a 12-8 halftime lead in Origin II at the MCG.
Daley's selections have formed the nucleus of an ugly NSW post-mortem, with the coach's decision to pick Moses at five-eighth - despite the Parramatta captain having not played for a month with a hamstring issue - topping a long list of sore points.
As Penrith coach Ivan Cleary welcomed the suggestion of shifting the interstate series to three consecutive weeks in the next TV rights cycle, Moses insisted he was 100 per cent fit in game two.
Amid calls for Ethan Strange, who debuted in the series opener, to retain his place ahead of Moses, the Blues five-eighth barely trained with his teammates in the lead-up to Origin II.
"Once we started to do media, it was question after question, which is completely understandable," Moses said.
"It's Origin, it's the most talked about and most watched game. Obviously, I didn't do one of the sessions and it gets spoken about."
Daley's hopes of winning the decider have not been helped by the fact Latrell Mitchell has already been ruled out of game three with a calf issue.
Moses said he was gutted for Mitchell but added he was disheartened by the criticism Daley has faced in the aftermath of the Melbourne match.
Former Blues playmakers Luke Keary and Braith Anasta have questioned Daley's coaching.
Daley is without a contract for next year and has failed to win a game three decider across his two stints in charge of the Blues.
"I don't know where it's coming from and to have it come from your own New South Welshmen, it's crazy," Moses said.
"We should be getting behind Laurie as much as possible and supporting him, no matter what.
"If you've worn a Blues jersey before, get behind him and support him, don't bag him."
Daley has been urged to make changes.
The Blues could have the option of calling on Penrith forward Liam Martin, who missed the first two games of the series through injury but has been building his fitness over recent weeks with the Panthers.
"He's a big-game player, but I'm not picking the team," Cleary said on Tuesday.
"There's another game this week so that's a great opportunity for him.
"Hopefully he has a great game for us this week, and if he does that then he'd be in the conversation somewhere."
Cleary, meanwhile, suggested the NRL would be wise to explore the possibility of a stand-alone Origin window in future, which would allow the NRLW clear air to launch its season.
"I think that's got merit," Cleary said.
"I think at the end of the day, the game's got to consider whether the NRL is still a good product through that Origin period."