Tino Fa'asuamaleaui will continue his "no mates on the field" ethos into State of Origin battles with Payne Haas for the next decade.
The 20-year-old lock was one of Queensland's best in the 20-14 win at Suncorp Stadium to secure the series for the Maroons.
After the win, where he ran for 140 metres and made 34 tackles in an inspired display of targeted aggression, he spoke for the first time since his fiery confrontation with NSW prop Haas in game two.
As inspiration in their dressing sheds, the Maroons had an iconic poster of Arthur Beetson running onto Lang Park in 1980, where he soon wrangled with Eels teammate and friend Mick Cronin in a landmark Origin confrontation.
Fa'asuamalaeaui was asked whether he would have the same approach towards Haas over the next decade.
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"It is a bit like that. We are mates off the field but when we are on the field there are no mates," he said.
"We both want to win. That’s football.
"We will be coming up against each other for years. There will be a little battle there.
"[In Sydney] we were just two young boys wanting to do our family and state proud. It was just heat of the moment … nothing personal. We are proud boys."
Fa'asuamaleaui credited coach Wayne Bennett for preparing him and the 13 other Maroons debutants unleashed in the series for the Origin cauldron.
"I think it is just Wayne. He’s the magic man. He definitely got us there," he said.
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"Wayne was helping us from day one and told us not to get too emotional about it and just to keep doing what we’ve been doing all year. That’s the reason I got picked.
"He just said ‘run hard, tackle hard’ and that is all we had to do. All the boys did.
"It is way easier for me to not have to think about too many things. It makes my job easy."
Lindsay Collins, who ran for 161m and made 16 tackles, played the best game of his career in the decider with the young Maroons forwards brilliantly led by veteran Josh Papalii.
"[Papalii] is a beast on the field and humble off the field. We all just look up to that and go with him. We’ve got his back no matter what," Fa'asuamaleaui said.
"Heaps of us boys are young and eager and just want to play football and go out there and do our state proud. I reckon we have a good young crew here and can build for years to come."
After winning the NRL premiership with the Storm the Titans-bound tyro described how much winning his first Origin series meant and why he was hungry for more.
"Words can’t express it. It was so crazy," he said.
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"It was one of the best feelings ever running out and hearing everyone chant ‘Queensland’. It is a memory I won’t forget.
"The first stint I had I was blowing and I looked up at the scoreboard and the completion rates were both in the nineties and I thought ‘far out’. It was a good experience and hopefully I can take it into next year."
First up, Fa'asuamaleaui will join David Fifita at the Titans where he has lofty ambitions.
"It is going to be good to get down there and meet some new boys and, being young, hopefully build something good for the future," he said.
"My goal is hopefully to turn that club around and we become a winning force. I think we can do it."