In one of the quirks of the Origin concept, Gallen has had to wait until the end of game three to claim the spoils of victory, rather than being given the honour after the breakthrough win in game two at ANZ Stadium three weeks ago.

Whether there is anybody left in the stands to witness the act remains to be seen. Gallen continues to be about as popular as malaria with Maroons diehards, many of whom are likely to head for the exits rather than see the Blues' leader finally pop the champagne on a series win.

If the bleachers are barren, there will be the inevitable cries of poor sportsmanship. But Smith has been in Gallen's shoes before, raising the shield at ANZ Stadium in game three last year as punters filed out the gate. In this case, hate the game, not the player.

Smith said his side would be on the field to congratulate Gallen and the Blues but wouldn't go as far as urging the crowd to do the same.

"I’ve got three children. I haven’t got 50,000 kids. I’m not going to tell everyone what to do," Smith said.

"If they want to stay, they can stay. If they want to go home they can go home. I remember lifting the shield in Sydney and I can’t remember seeing a packed house there.

All I can control is myself and my footy team and all I know is we’ll be sticking around to lift it up."

Gallen doesn't appear at all concerned whether there is a single paying punter left in the entire suburb of Milton. The moment, he said, would be special for his team and the support staff, some of whom have endured year upon year of Origin misery before biting back.

"I don't care if there's five people there or 50,000, I am looking forward to it," Gallen said. "I played up here a few weeks back with Cronulla and they were letting me have it.

"This is not just about me and these players, it's about all the coaches and players that have played in the other years before this. It will be a special moment."

Smith said all was calm in the Queensland camp and Will Chambers, accused of assault a week out from the game, had prepared well for his Origin debut.

He said Johnathan Thurston hadn't been concerned with comments from Cowboys team-mate James Tamou that Blues ace Jarryd Hayne was a more influential player. Tamou, he said, had even texted Thurston about comments published in a story on Tuesday.

"I don’t think JT needs any motivation from comments made in the paper, given that James texted him and apologised for the comments that he made. That’s a bit of a funny one. He [Thurston] has never lived off comments from other players or the media to play better. He’s a competitor."