Teagan Berry would have made herself walk home from Suncorp Stadium in the dark had she not pulled off the try-saving tackle that sealed back-to-back State of Origin titles for NSW.
Now, up 2-0, the Blues will harness the disappointment of last year and "do everything humanly possible" to clinch a historic sweep of the three-match series.
NSW held on for a 14-10 game-two win on Thursday night after back-up winger Berry tackled Jasmine Peters into touch during the final 30 seconds.
Referee Belinda Sharpe originally awarded Peters a try that would have levelled the scores at 14-14 and given the Maroons a chance to tie the series with a game-winning conversion.
But replays showed Peters' boot sliding into touch as she attempted to stretch through Berry's tackle and onto the tryline.
"It's probably one of the best feelings I've had playing footy," Berry said.
"I was lucky enough to take her out of the sideline and sort of win the game for us there and stop the try."
Prior to her heroic moment at the death, second-gamer Berry had endured a tough night under the high ball, making two errors.
She notably spilt the ball backwards ahead of another would-be Peters try that was foiled by Jesse Southwell's brilliant one-on-one tackle in the corner.
After her earlier slip-ups, Berry felt the least she could do was come up with the game-defining moment.
"I was like, 'I sort of need to come up with a play here'. Lucky that I did that, otherwise I probably would've walked home tonight," she said.
Southwell made her own try-saving tackle one set after receiving on-field medical attention for an apparent neck injury.
A tackle from Romy Teitzel and Keilee Joseph left the halfback and eventual player-of-the-match motionless on the ground.
"My head just kind of got stuck in the ground. It felt like there was someone on top of me," she said.
"I'm feeling good now, feeling great actually."
With the Origin shield retained, the Blues will focus their attention on becoming the first team to record a 3-0 whitewash since the women's series expanded to three games in 2024.
NSW had been in position to sweep last year's series, only to lose the third match on home soil.
"It hurt a lot," Southwell said.
"I hated not winning all three so we really want to win this series and sweep it."
Since that game-three disappointment in Newcastle, the Blues have been plotting to right the wrongs.
"It was something that we spoke about in the sheds after that game, just how the girls were feeling and just to bottle that feeling," said coach John Strange.
"Then, hopefully, we're in a position next year, which now we are, to then touch back on how that game felt when we get back into camp, and do everything humanly possible for that not to happen."