'Out of body experience': Inside the '11th hour' Andrew Johns heroics in 2005 State of Origin series

Andrew Johns enjoyed a career full of defining moments - but perhaps none more iconic and memorable than his performance in the 2005 State of Origin series.

Regarded as one of the greatest players of all-time, Johns dominated on the field at both club and representative level through the late-1990s and early-2000s.

Two premierships with his beloved Knights, as well as two World Cup triumphs with the Kangaroos and multiple Origin victories make Johns one of the most successful and influential players to ever lace up a pair of boots and hold a Steeden.

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But it was his series-winning display for the NSW Blues two decades ago that cemented Johns as a first-ballot Hall of Famer and as expected, a rugby league Immortal.

After missing the majority of the 2004 season due to an ACL injury, Johns was again a notable omission from the series opener at Suncorp Stadium after missing early stages of the campaign with Newcastle due to a fractured jaw.

Brett Kimmorley was selected in the No.7 jumper for the Blues and would partner Trent Barrett in the halves. Quality players in their own right, they were unable to get the job done against a tough Queensland side that boasted Johnathan Thurston and Darren Lockyer in their key playmaking roles, going down 24-20 in a golden-point thriller.

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Thurston, in his debut for the Maroons, kicked a field-goal in the 78th minute - Queensland's second of the night after Darren Lockyer potted one just before half-time to make it 13-0 - levelling the scores at 20-all.

But it was Matt Bowen who sealed the game, reeling in a wayward pass from Kimmorley in the 84th minute to race away and score the match-winning try in dramatic fashion.

To lose in such devastating fashion - as well as the fact the Maroons still had another game at Lang Park up their sleeve - prompted an immediate response from coach Ricky Stuart, who made changes heading into the must-win clash in Sydney.

The most notable change came in the halves, with Stuart dropping Kimmorley and pushing Barrett to the No.7 jumper to partner Braith Anasta, who was less than a year removed from steering the Canterbury Bulldogs to a premiership.

But in a cruel twist, Barrett suffered an injury in camp and was ruled out less than 72 hours before the game, which saw Johns parachuted into the halfback position despite only having one game under his belt with the Knights.

"Ricky didn't pick me for game two - what happened was Trent Barrett got injured, so I came in on the Monday," Johns recalled for Nine's Freddy and The Eighth.

"I had been out for 10 weeks with a broken jaw. I think I had played five games in 18 months because I did my knee early in 2004 and then came back and broke my jaw.

"I had only played one game before this one."

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Speaking to Wide World of Sports, Anasta recalled the series of events that led to him playing alongside one of his childhood idols with an Origin series on the line.

"I was gonna play with Trent Barrett in the halves and then he went down injured and Joey came in, they called him at the 11th hour," he said.

"I had played with him on the Australian tour, but not in the halves - I was only a kid on that tour and played off the bench, so it was my first opportunity to play alongside him at that level, which was crazy because he was one of my heroes.

"He came into camp and just had an immediate impact. He was a freak - he owned the team even considering it was late notice - so we got to experience how much of a freak he was as a player and leader. It was Immortal status and for me to play with my hero was one thing - but watching him go to work and the way he prepared, it was next level.

"He just made me feel at ease, we clicked pretty much straight away." 

What followed was a scintillating and trademark individual display as Johns orchestrated a gallant 32-22 victory for the Blues to keep the series alive and send it to a decider.

The champion pivot finished with two linebreaks, two try assists, 96 run metres, three tackle breaks and three conversions without a miss.

It remains the consensus pick for the greatest Origin performance ever and Johns revealed that famous Blues jersey has never left his possession.

"It's still got the dirt on it," he said.

"It's the only one I have at home, the rest are in storage. I have told the kids that this is the family heirloom, this is not to be sold or anything and it has to stay in the family."

While many were in awe of Johns' heroics, the job was far from done as NSW would soon head into enemy territory at the old Lang Park for game three.

In arguably the most stunning 63 minutes of rugby league ever seen, the Blues ran riot against their inter-state rivals, scoring six unanswered tries to take a 32-0 lead.

Anasta opened the scoring in the 20th minute, winger Matt King ran in a hat-trick and Mark Gasnier and Timana Tahu also got on the board.

But again, it was Johns who steered the ship, laying on three try assists in another special performance at Origin level to lift the shield in Brisbane.

"It was iconic - going to Suncorp was intimidating, everyone hates you up there and our record hasn't been great, but we had an air of confidence and the majority of that was because of Joey's influence," Anasta said.

"He was so relaxed, yet so sure of what the game plan was and how to execute it.

"My experience playing with Joey is kind of related to a game of chess and him just being a genius - he was three or four moves ahead of everyone.

"He was the best at deceiving the opposition. He would pepper guys, work them over, tire them out and then he would go away from them for a bit and then come back.

"He would get them to the point where they were that fatigued and that bamboozled by him that he made them vulnerable and he would execute to perfection.

"We had a fair team and everyone jumped on the bandwagon off the back of him and we let him control the team. It was special, we ended up beating them pretty easily up there and the game was over after 50 minutes ... it was an out of body experience.

"It was fascinating, because you're on the field playing Origin, but you're witnessing one of the greatest of all-time in his absolute element. It's something I will never forget."

That victory was one to remember for NSW for a number of reasons.

Johns would never play Origin football again before retiring completely in 2007 and the Blues players took the opportunity to send him out in true style.

"We had a fair team who also liked a good time," Anasta recalled.

"Times have changed now, but we didn't sleep. We were in a team room, pretty much straight after the game all our families came in. My brother and my mates were just starstruck in the players lounge with all of us.

"We went all the way through and straight onto the plane the next day. We had a fun time, told stories, had a laugh and celebrated and got on the drink together.

"We made the most of it, being Joey's last one and celebrated until the sun came up." 

Johns bowing out would coincide with the beginning of an unheralded era of dominance for Queensland that is unlikely to ever be replicated at Origin level, winning eight series in a row with one of the greatest collections of talent in history.

From that series onwards, the Blues tried and failed to replace the magic Johns was able to bring to the side, using six different halfbacks before finally getting it right with Canterbury's Trent Hodkinson in the drought-breaking 2014 series.

Equally, it took the Blues another 19 years to again win a decider at Suncorp Stadium, only doing so last year under the guidance of Michael Maguire in his only series as coach.

But despite everything that has transpired since, the memories of Johns taking the bull by the horns and leading the Blues to an unforgettable series victory will never fade for Anasta.

"You have your moments in your career, ups and downs - but playing with him was the best experience I ever had and he's the best player I ever played with," Anasta said.

"I will take that to my grave, knowing that I achieved success and went into Origin folklore with one of the greatest, if not the greatest of all-time.

"It's something special that I hold close to my heart."