As the Blues ran away with a 38-6 blinder over Queensland in Origin II in Perth, the Melbourne Lock embodied the excitement of Far South Coast supporters.

Finucane was promoted to the starting side late on Sunday afternoon where the Bega export was in the thick of play from the outset, running some good early hit ups and getting himself involved in NSW's defensive efforts.

"I do like getting into the game early, you want to get that first touch, that first tackle and the nerves go after the first contact. That's the same for any player," Finucane had said ahead of the game.

The five-time grand final contender is never complacent and made no errors in camp saying he would do "Whatever role Freddy wants me to do" and it's a trait that his Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy said made him the man for the job.

"He does what the team needs him to do. That's what you need with your Origin players, and I think he'll be great for them," Bellamy told media in the lead-up.

Finucane played about 45 minutes of the 80-minute thriller with about 30 minutes of his appearance in the opening half where he forged a strong link in the Blues' defensive chain on the right side.

He also made 10 hit-ups and handed the Blues about 80 metres of field position for it.

While Fox Sports gave Finucane's opening appearance a six-out-of-10 rating, NRL reporter Paul Zalunardo was warmer to the Melbourne forward, giving his debut a 7.5 of 10 score in a post-game wrap up on Sunday.

"Everyone said he was made for Origin. They were right. In game one he looked like a 20-game veteran. Provided plenty of steel in the middle third of the field, particularly in the first half," Mr Zalunardo's glowing review reads.

The only tarnish on Finucane's debut was a knock-on, but in driving rain the dropped ball gave away little with the Blues deep in their attacking zone at the time.

However, it was far removed from some of the more embarassing fumbles - particularly costly errors at the start of the second half where Queensland almost appeared to be gifting NSW a dominant result.

Jake Trobojevic was named man of the match, playing 72 minutes in the Blues' engine room, which might surprise many given the highlight reel out of the NSW camp.

Fullback James Tedesco, winger Josh Addo-Carr, centre Tom Trobojevic and half James Maloney all had to be in contention.

Last week, prop David Klemmer would be back to health for Origin 3 so now Brad Fittler is left with the difficult task of - if Klemmer is fit - who to drop from the bench for his return.