NSW Origin winger Zac Lomax left the MCG with a personal haul of 18 points and the admiration of AFL fans everywhere after scoring a try off a soaring mark.
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But the St George Illawarra flyer almost didn't make it on to the field, forced to undergo a medical procedure in Melbourne on his knee on the eve of the match.
Suffering from knee bursitis after a bump on the joint playing last round against Manly, Lomax had fluid drained and was on pain-killers to play.
Lining up for just his second Origin, he still managed two tries among the Blues' bag of seven, and five conversions as his team powered to a 38-18 victory over Queensland to level the series.
The 18-point tally put him equal-third for all-time points in an Origin game behind two other Blues greats: Ryan Girdler, who stunned with 32 points in 2000, and Nathan Cleary, who scored 24 in 2022.
With his swollen knee strapped with ice and bruising on show, Lomax shrugged off the injury.
"I've got a bit of a bursa that swelled up, and have got some bruising around it, but that's footy, that's the way it goes," the 24-year-old said.
"I got it drained through the week, but it's not too bad."
Lomax paid tribute to NSW halfback Mitchell Moses for setting up his "speccy", leaping high over Queensland winger Murray Taulagi to take the ball.
"Mitch just put it on the spot, so I guess he did his job, I decided to do my job,'' he said.
"You're filled with adrenalin once you come back down with it, but I was pumped I guess - to score an Origin try is pretty cool.
"It happens pretty quick, and you just sort of don't think about it too much.
"Thankfully we got the win, so we're super stoked."
Set to join Parramatta next year after seven trophy-less seasons with the Dragons, the Temora product said the Blues' MCG heroics were a career highlight that could only be topped by victory at Suncorp Stadium next month.
"I'll hold this one close to my heart, that's for sure," Lomax said.
"Everyone in the place really wants to be a part of it. It's unbelievable, but we've got another job to do and it's a test we're going to be up for, for sure."
Australian Associated Press
