Queensland legend Cooper Cronk has shown why he is considered one of the great minds in the NRL having predicted the Maroons' key to victory in the State of Origin decider would be to shut down Latrell Mitchell and Stephen Crichton. Up until the decider in Sydney on Wednesday, the NSW edges of Crichton, Mitchell, Zac Lomax and Brian To'o had benefited from early ball throughout the series.

NSW had scored more tries than Queensland in both games, but were let down by their goal-kicking in Perth having lost 26-24. While Mitchell hadn't scored a try in Brisbane and Perth, his presence has been a distraction for the Queensland side down the left.

Queensland legend Cooper Cronk (pictured right) showed why he was a 22 game Origin star having predicted the Maroons' game plan to stop Latrell Mitchell (pictured left) and the NSW backline. (Images: Getty Images)

Crichton is considered by many as the best centre in the game and crossed over for a try in Perth. And fans were expecting Nathan Cleary to hand early ball to his destructive backline on a dry track in Sydney. But Lomax, Crichton and Mitchell were completely nullified in the decider in Sydney with Billy Slater instructing his men to follow Cronk's game plan to aplomb.

Ahead of the game, Cronk suggested Queensland needed to up their tempo if they were going to nullify the Blues' destructive edges. Robert Toia and debutant Gehmat Shibasaki needed to have their best defensive games to answer this call.

"In Game 2, when they were coming, every time they touched the ball it looked like something was happening," Cronk said on Fox Sports ahead of the game. "So I think for Queensland to win this, they need to defend like their life depends on it, but those two centres cannot get early effective ball. Their first tackle on their centres needs to be the best tackle ever.

"If Latrell or Stephen fend off their centre, it’s going to give them a lot of confidence. It’s going to give Nathan and Jarome more reason to go there, so they need to stop them."

Latrell Mitchell (pictured) and the NSW backline struggled in the State of Origin decider.

And that is exactly what Toia and debutant Shibasaki achieved. Both centres jammed in on defence with Xavier Coates and Valentine Holmes also piling the pressure on the Blues backline. Cleary and Jarome Luai were unable to give any early ball to their attacking weapons for nearly 60 minutes of the game in a drastic change from the final 40 minutes of Game 2.

While To'o managed to cross over in the final minute of the clash, Lomax, Crichton and Mitchell were completely nullified in the decider in Sydney with Slater getting his men to follow Cronk's words of wisdom.

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Billy Slater lauds Queensland side after victory

Slater was in tears after the game with captain Cameron Munster after a tough week leading up to the decider. The coach himself made plenty of tough calls throughout the series, which included dropping former captain Daly Cherry-Evans after Game 1. He also blooded Toia and Gehmat Shibasaki in the series.

And the coach admitted this was one of the sweetest victories in his short, but successful, coaching career in Origin. "They're right up there," Slater said of Queensland's 2-1 series victory. "It is a true Queensland team. It's been a true Queensland performance. That's no disrespect to anyone else, but you look over the history of this footy team.

"I'm so proud of this group. I've been proud of this group a number of times over the last four years, and I don't know if I've been any more proud than tonight. There's been a lot of hurdles to overcome. It's an incredible feeling and I'm sure five and a half million people are feeling the same thing."

Cameron Munster (pictured right) put in a stunning performance to win against Laurie Daley's (pictured left) NSW side.

This article originally appeared on Yahoo Sport Australia at https://au.news.yahoo.com/cooper-cronk-calls-out-glaring-truth-about-latrell-mitchell-in-message-to-queensland-players-022453101.html