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Papa won't preach to Tino about toning down aggression

Maroons pack leader Josh Papalii will not tell young tyro Tino Fa'asuamaleaui to tone down his aggression but wants him to channel it into his hit-ups and tackles in the Origin series decider.

Papalii said it would be hypocritical of him to speak to Fa'asuamaleaui about discipline leading into next week's decider given he was also guilty of showing frustration during the loss.

The Raiders enforcer wasn't on the field when Fa'asuamaleaui traded blows with Blues rival Payne Haas.

Fa'asuamaleaui has been fined for his part in the melee while Papalii escaped sanction for pulling Angus Crichton's hair five minutes after scoring Queensland's second try.

"I got into a little bit of red [in my] head, I lost control of the sense of where the game was," Papalii said.

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"[So] I don't want to sound like a hypocrite because I was borderline there. That's probably something we want out of Tino. He's a big man and you've got to let him go.

"The fighting bit is not what we're after but his running game and putting that aggression in defence like he does at Melbourne."

In an ominous warning to the Blues for the series decider at Suncorp Stadium, Papalii has taken responsibility for Queensland's collapse up the middle in their 34-10 loss in game two.

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A week after the Maroons kept NSW quiet in the centre of the park and enjoyed success of their own in Origin I, Haas (157 metres) and front-row partner Daniel Saifiti (127 metres) returned serve to lead the way in the battle between the packs.

With 17 appearances for the Maroons under his belt, Papalii didn't hesitate in taking responsibility for the side's efforts in the engine room at ANZ Stadium.

"I was very disappointed in my performance, I've got to be better and hopefully the young boys can get on the back of that," Papalii said.

"I have to [take responsibility], being the oldest in the middle and more experienced than the younger fellas coming through.

"We started well but let them off the hook easy. There was a lot of my fault there, not setting the platform for Chez [Daly Cherry-Evans] and Benny Hunt to play off so I'll take that.

"You can't give Teddy [James Tedesco[ and Cody Walker the easy ball they had or you're obviously going to pay.

"[But] we were getting rolled before then so we'll go back to Brissy and look at a few videos and turn up next Wednesday."

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The Maroons are desperate to get back on track and end NSW's recent run of dominance in the Ampol State of Origin arena after the series was levelled 1-1 in Sydney.

Papalii will go into the Wednesday's match having never lost a decider in three attempts since making his Origin debut in 2013.

"It's going to be awesome to play in front of the family again," he said. "That gets me going."

Acknowledgement of Country

Queensland Rugby League respects and honours the Traditional Custodians of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on the lands we meet, gather and play on.

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