No one has partnered Mitchell Pearce longer than James Maloney.
But for too long, Maloney says, Pearce went one-out at State of Origin.
“He’s been painted as a scapegoat a lot of times and probably carried the burden that wasn’t his to carry,” Maloney said on Thursday.
“(But) he’ll go out there, play a blinder, and get to right a few things wrong.”
Pearce began his road to Origin redemption on Thursday when he participated in his first Blues training session since game three of their 2017 series defeat.
It was his seventh defeat in an Origin decider.
At ANZ Stadium next Wednesday he gets his eighth chance to finally end the ghost of series past and get his hands on the elusive Origin shield.
Blues coach Brad Fittler liked what he saw as the Newcastle star fitted seamlessly onto the Blues’ right edge during their 90-minute session at NSW HQ.
“He’s sharp. I think the familiarity of having (Maloney) there and their experience together really helps,” Fittler said.
“Also Boyd (Cordner) … there’s some players here he knows. I think it went really smoothly for our first session.”
Pearce, 30, threw some pinpoint passes for Tyson Frizell and Tom Trbojevic along their flank, while also practising some midfield bombs.
For most of the session he and Maloney ran their respective channels.
However, it wasn’t until later in the run that the former Sydney Roosters combination mixed things up by roaming to the other’s side of the field.
The pair famously won a premiership together for the Roosters in 2013.
Fittler wouldn’t commit to planting each playmaker on their edge and suggested the pair would have the ultimate decision on how they would run the game.
The Blues have two more field sessions before the captain’s run on Tuesday.
“I think they’ll work it out. It seemed like it went pretty smoothly then,” Fittler said.
“Having the luxury of playing together before, and won grand finals, they’ll know each other’s strengths.
“We’ve also got other players there that have got certain skills that can move the ball and do different things.
“It’s about getting the best out of everyone.”
Pearce, who received some advice from Blues champion Andrew Johns throughout the session, said Origin was more than putting structures in place.
“(Jimmy and I are) both ball players so we can mix our roles up,” Pearce said.
“(But) at the end of the day, Joey Johns said a really good point: Origin’s not won with set plays, it’s won with moments and effort and all that sort of stuff.
“While we need to execute that stuff, there’s a lot more to the game.”