Ben Hunt believes the best way for Queensland to get over their State of Origin II thrashing at the hands of NSW is simply to forget about it.
The Maroons were comprehensively beaten 38-6 in front of a record crowd at Optus Stadium in Perth on Sunday night, with the Blues forcing a series decider in Sydney on July 10.
NSW were by far the better team in the wet conditions as at times torrential rain hit the ground, with Manly stars Tom and Jake Trbojevic, Blues fullback James Tedesco and man of the match James Maloney among the best for the Blues.
Tom Trbojevic gave NSW an early lead with the first try of his hat-trick before Queensland hit back with a controversial penalty try only for the Blues to run away with the game in the second half.
Dragons forwards Tyson Frizell, Paul Vaughan and Tariq Sims were all strong for NSW, while Hunt tried hard in a spirited 80-minute performance at hooker for the Maroons.
The St George Illawarra halfback was one of Queensland's best and tried to spark his side with a sublime 40/20 in the second half.
But it wasn't enough as Hunt identified a lack of effort as Queensland's downfall.
"Very disappointing result. I guess the best thing for us to do is probably forget about tonight, really. And know and have the belief that we can do it and just look back on game one knowing that the team we've got here is a team that can win the game," he said.
"[We've got to] just be a lot more disciplined. I think we gave away some silly penalties and turned the ball over a lot. Just probably a few more things in the effort areas. Just need to improve them.
"It was pretty wet, a few boys slipping over here and there. But it was wet for both teams. We're definitely not blaming the conditions, that's for sure.
"We just need to stick together as a team, get back to what we did in game one and prepare hard."
Hunt appeared to get through the game unscathed in a positive for Dragons coach Paul McGregor.
St George Illawarra host North Queensland in Wollongong on Friday night needing to win to keep in touch with the top eight.
The Dragons slumped to 13th place on the NRL table after their 34-14 hammering at the hands of Manly a fortnight ago. St George Illawarra and the Cowboys are level on 12 points, two outside the top eight.
The pair are in a logjam of seven teams from Parramatta in eighth to Penrith in 14th separated by just two points.
The Dragons have won three of their last four clashes with North Queensland, including the last two meetings between the sides at WIN Stadium.
The match is the first of three straight games in Wollongong for St George Illawarra.
