Daniel Saifiti's mum cried when told she wouldn't be able to travel to Queensland to see her son play at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday night.
The NSW squad was informed on Wednesday due to the latest Queensland border restrictions residents from greater Sydney, Central Coast, Wollongong and the Blue Mountains would be prevented from entering the state, leaving several Blues stars and their families heartbroken.
It means the majority of NSW ticketholders won't be in the crowd to soften the roar of Maroons fans for Origin II, which threatens to be the most hostile Queensland crowd in history.
For Saifiti's mum Beverly, it was just heartbreaking.
"She's spewing. She cried," the Blues prop told AAP.
"She's been to a few Origin games but not at Suncorp. My partner Mikenzie [McManus] was telling her last year how hostile the environment was and she wanted to experience that."
Angus Crichton's mum and sisters will also be locked out of the state, joining several Blues stars in a similar situation.
It adds more weight to the already tremendous challenge of playing two straight games in Queensland, as well as the Blues' poor record at Suncorp Stadium.
She's spewing. She cried.
DANIEL SAIFITI
While the Kingscliff camp was relaxed as possible, Blues coach Brad Fittler has been serious about avoiding any distractions for the side as they look to wrap up the series with a win.
After a 50-6 victory in front of an overwhelmingly Queensland-centric crowd in Townsville in game one, Fittler had hoped for more support for the Blues in game two in Brisbane.
The Blues have won just two of their last 14 games at Suncorp.
"It's a challenge, but we can't do anything about it today," Fittler said of border closures and the escalating COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney.
"A lot of the players are really disappointed a lot of their families won't be able to attend, but they will be watching. It is what it is.
"We can deal with it the best we can and as of today they're preparing really well."
They might get a hostile reception in Brisbane but during their final training session in Kingscliff on Thursday, the Blues were swarmed by hundreds of locals.
It eased the pain to feel the support before the squad makes the trip to Brisbane on Friday morning.
As of Thursday the NSWRL has been told they are safe to cross the border into Queensland, after flying into the state on Monday and completing a border declaration pass.
All players and staff were tested for COVID-19 and returned negative results as an added precaution prior to travelling.
Meanwhile, ex-skipper Boyd Cordner was at training on Thursday after joining camp earlier this week, while world champion surfer Mick Fanning was also present at the packed training session.
NSW will train for the final time in Kingscliff on Thursday morning before heading into enemy territory on Friday.
