Mitchell Pearce feels a responsibility to repay Laurie Daley for bringing him back into the Origin fold, but the NSW coach is adamant: "He doesn't owe me anything."
Pearce has represented the Blues on 13 occasions but is yet to be part of a series-winning side. An off-field incident cost him the chance to be part of the team which finally brought the shield south last year, but the Roosters co-captain was recalled this season at the expense of Canterbury's Josh Reynolds.
The Suncorp Stadium decider provides Pearce with the opportunity to finally silence his critics, but his main motivation is to assist the team and pay back the faith shown by Daley and the Blues brains trust.
"They had trust in me and belief in me, to bring me back into the side," Pearce said.
"I have a lot of respect for those guys and it will be special when we get the job done. There's a whole lot of people it will be special to share it with. Loz's trust in me is something I'd love to repay."
Pearce was first selected for NSW as a teenager, was anointed a future captain by former coach Ricky Stuart and was dropped when the breakthrough series finally came. Although he now captains his club, he laughed off any talk of him fulfilling Stuart's prediction when current skipper Paul Gallen retires.
"I just want to win this game," he said. "I'm not going to say anything [about the captaincy], that's ridiculous. There are some great leaders here. I'm really proud to be back in this side after missing last year. I've said a few times, they have trusted me by bringing me back in.
"For me, this is about earning the respect of my teammates and delivering on the big stage for them and NSW. That's my focus at the moment and that's what I'm preparing for.
"It's not about you, it's about the state and the people who pick and have trust in you. That's my focus at the moment."
While Pearce believes he is indebted to Daley for squeezing him into a winning side, the coach doesn't see it that way.
"He doesn't owe me anything," Daley said.
"He's a guy who works really hard to show everyone he's a very good player ... He's a great character to have around, a really good player. He has been maligned but like Trent [Hodkinson], when he comes into our group, he's really appreciated.
"I don't mean that the Roosters don't appreciate him, they do too, but I just mean in terms of the general public.
"We know what he's capable of doing, he just needs a little bit of confidence. He's probably been unsure of himself at this level but he knows he belongs and what his game is. For me he's been excellent in games one and two."
Given Pearce wasn't part of the team which finally lifted the shield, his NSW teammates said having him part of a winning series this year would make it even more special.
"Mitchell Pearce, for him to do the job for NSW in a team that he's been involved in for so long, he's aching for something like that," said forward James Tamou.
"It would be something so special."
Pearce himself admits that, given everything he has gone through during his interstate career, a breakthrough series victory would be sweet indeed.
"It would be awesome, it's another goal I'd love to achieve and would be something special, that's for sure," Pearce said.
"It would be great for a lot of reasons but just winning the series would be the best thing about it."
The Blues, who have a poor record at Suncorp Stadium, haven't won back-to-back series since 2004-05.
"Yeah, it's something NSW haven't done in a long time, win one. To win another one, all the beautiful stuff is out there, the perfect script is there for us," Pearce said.
"Now it's just about preparing as well as we can and getting the job done. Hopefully that's a win."
