There is relaxed before Origin - then there is Anthony Milford relaxed before Origin.
So impossibly serene has the new face in the Queensland side been ahead of his debut that an asteroid plummeting towards Earth would likely prompt him to ever so softly suggest he's just happy to take things one apocalypse at a time.
On the face of things, the 22-year-old has little reason to be so at ease with the task that lies ahead. He will step out in the game's toughest arena, wearing the jersey of some genuine legends of the code, including the man he replaces, Johnathan Thurston.
NSW will bombard him with thundering edge runners and oversized centres until he will start to wonder what he signed up for in the first place. He will be administered a dose of extras in every tackle. When a quarter of the game has ticked over, he will have the same horrible realisation as every rookie cowboy at this rodeo.
"At the 20th minute mark, when his bum is hanging out, he'll look up at the clock and realise he's still got 60 minutes to go. That's just how it is," says former Maroons halfback Scott Prince.
"But we all know he has the potential to be a superstar of the game. Opportunity has arrived and it's a great time for him to be around so many wonderful players, in an era where Queensland has been dominant.
"He will walk around with a smile all week. But when he takes the field, the real stuff begins."
The disappointment for Queensland around the injury to Thurston - an ironman with 36 consecutive games to his name - has been partly offset by the appearance of Milford, Brisbane's young playmaker and the heir apparent to the famous jumper.
Exuberance doesn't come naturally to Milford but others involved in the Queensland game are bursting at the seams to see what he brings to the Origin table. From an early age, everything pointed to this moment arriving sooner or later. Thurston's shoulder hastened the process.
The game has come so easily to the gifted five-eighth, who grew up playing among fellow Pacific Islanders in Logan, south of Brisbane, that he often stands accused of a perceived laziness in his preparation and delivery.
Those close to Milford refute the notion out of hand.
"Knowing Anthony, he will leave no stone unturned ahead of this game," Prince says.
And in camp during the week, he has actively quizzed his new teammates on key aspects of his contribution, from halves partner Cooper Cronk to centre Will Chambers, who stands to be his main defensive minder.
Pressure isn't a foreign concept either. From the moment he was signed by the Canberra Raiders, then heavily recruited by Brisbane who viewed him as the bedrock of their club for the next generation, the expectations have been immense.
Last year, Origin teammate Sam Thaiday not only compared him to two of the men that have gone before him but boldly suggested he may end up a better player once all is said and done.
"I've had the chance to play with some fantastic halves in Darren Lockyer and Johnathan Thurston, and these guys work on their craft for many, many years," Thaiday said. "Milf hasn't been in our game for that long. I won't be surprised if he overtakes those two guys in being an absolute legend of the NRL. If he continues to stay positive and work hard at his craft, I'm sure he will have his name up their one day with all of those Immortals."
That sort of exalted status seems like a lifetime away, given he's yet to even step onto an Origin field. His teammates and mentors have already told him to keep it simple, play to his strengths and not suffer delusions of grandeur.
"It's going to be tough for him," former Maroons, Kangaroos and Brisbane centre Justin Hodges says. "Until you are out there, until you are in the battle and especially in those tight games, it's like you are going to hell and back.
"They are going to throw bodies at him, put him under the pump defensively, throw shape at him. He has to stay composed and he's there for a reason - because he's very, very good.
"There is a lot of pressure ... they are massive shoes and you can never replace a guy like Johnno, even for one game. He is going to have to put his body through things he never thought he could. But it will only make him a better player."
In the fading light of Queensland training on Friday, Milford reminded everyone - Hodges included - exactly why he was held in such high regard. In a spirited opposed session against the Queensland under-20s, who Hodges coaches, his dancing feet left them grasping at thin air.
"He just has to make sure he trusts his ability and trust the guys around him," Hodge says. "There's no better player with the ball - he just put a bit of footwork on our forwards and made them look silly.
"He's made for this."
