The last time Johnathan Thurston and Beau Scott faced off against one another, the Cowboys and Queensland half ended up with more bumps on his face than a teenager and a few black eyes to match.
But after Thurston's Maroons prevailed 11-10 over Scott's Blues on Wednesday evening, the playmaker was able to leave ANZ Stadium not only satisfied by the win but also by earning some sweet revenge on Scott after getting some rough treatment from the Knights forward in North Queensland's loss to Newcastle back in Round 2 of the Telstra Premiership.
Thurston's Origin vengeance came a minute before half-time when Scott, looking to ambush Queensland on their line for his second try of the night, was met by the veteran Maroon who had no qualms picking him up and slamming the second-rower on his back.
Thurston said while he understood it was the New South Welshman's job to target the halves it didn't mean he couldn't be pleased after handing Scott his comeuppances.
"It was a little bit satisfying. I'm not the only half who is targeted by Beau and that's why he's in the NSW team. He does that to everyone but it was nice to get that one shot on him and hopefully I can get him again with another soon," Thurston laughed.
"He's in teams to do a job [on the halves] and whenever I've come up against him he's always there to try and nullify what I do. I thought he got me there once or twice but I think we were happy to sneak away with win in the end."
Not only satisfied to get one over his newfound nemesis, Thurston said he was happy to get an early Origin win on the board after having to go through the disappointment of Queensland's first series loss in nine years in 2014.
"We were extremely disappointed with our performances last year and obviously to get the result that we wanted against a very good New South Wales team this time around in their own backyard, I couldn't be any prouder of the boys," Thurston said.
"There's no bigger challenge, with the side they picked they were looking to kick down our front door but our middle third held strong and they deserve all the credit. This side is one of the greatest I've ever been a part of and the record shows that.
"Obviously there are a lot of old heads in this team but with that comes experience and in those last five minutes I think that was the telling part and the difference between the two teams."
Thurston went on to pay tribute to centre Greg Inglis, who after spending three days in hospital battling tonsillitis in the lead-up to the game managed to produce 121 metres and 21 tackles.
Yet after a couple of errors the South Sydney captain wasn't pleased with his individual performance.
"He didn't train very much obviously throughout the week so look for him to take some really tough carries for us means he'll only be better for the run," Thurston said.
"We know the quality of player that he is, he's probably disappointed with the way he performed, but I thought defensively he was pretty strong and he'll be back bigger and better over the next couple of weeks."