Inside the race to clear Blues duo for Origin opener

Westpac NSW Blues team doctor Nathan Gibbs has revealed the lengths star duo Stephen Crichton and Payne Haas went to inspire the side to victory in Wednesday's State of Origin opener.

The pair played a key role in the Blues' 18-6 victory as the visitors silenced a sold-out Suncorp Stadium to take a 1-0 lead in the series. 

Haas produced a man of the match performance just 10 days after suffering a quad strain, while Crichton was outstanding in both attack and defence two days after suffering a corked thigh that nearly ruled him out of the match.

Gibbs has spent more than three decades working in high-performance sport and said the duo's ability to deliver on limited preparation was among the most impressive performances he's seen.

"It's easy to rule people out because you can never be proven wrong," Gibbs told NRL.com. "But the players test you and it's good to test your capabilities by putting someone in and not just ruling them out. They were outstanding tonight and that was really rewarding for everyone involved.

"It's great for the team to see people playing injured, but to play well injured is another level. Both those players played well injured, which is a credit to their mental strength."

Haas' preparation for Game One was thrown into doubt when he suffered a minor quad strain in Brisbane's Round 11 loss to the Dragons.

The star prop was largely a spectator throughout the 10-day camp, with coach Laurie Daley conceding he completed less than half a session leading into the game.

Gibbs said Haas' strain is usually a 2-3 week injury, but the Blues were always confident he would be able to take his place in the team.

Crichton, however, was in far more doubt after suffering a cork on Monday afternoon. While the Blues hoped to make a decision on game day, NRL rules required the team to decide 24 hours before kick off to allow them to add a new 18th man to the squad.

Gibbs was slightly nervous about the prospect of clearing the centre, but Crichton completed a fitness test in the team hotel and declared to medical staff that he was right to play.

"He was in doubt," Daley said. "It was a pretty bad cork but our physios did an amazing job all week with Payne and Critta. Payne's injury we weren't sure with that either but they were patient with him. 

"Critta was fantastic. They said to me Critta's right to go because they asked him this morning how was he and he said he was 'mad'.  So that's obviously good."

Haas led the Blues charge from the front, laying the foundation alongside fellow starting prop Mitch Barnett with a powerful opening stint.

Haas finished with 156 run metres, while Barnett ran for 110m, including 70m in a dominant first shift.

The Blues will now travel to Perth looking to wrap up the series for the second-straight year while Queensland will need to quickly regroup.

The Maroons had chances to finish over the top of their opponents in the second half but their execution let them down.