He experiences a similar pain whenever he's reminded that Queensland claimed last year's State of Origin series on the same night as he debuted for NSW.

These are the results that hurt far more than any on-field injury ever has; the nightmare within the dream that was the Canberra Raiders centre's 2008 season.

They're also the results he feared he would never get an opportunity to rectify a legitimate concern considering he was overlooked for the first Australian and NSW sides of 2009.

Thankfully he was wrong.

On Wednesday Monaghan will return to the NSW side for the first time since last year's heartbreaking game-three loss to Queensland.

His opportunity comes after original Blues centre Michael Jennings was ruled out with a calf injury on Thursday.

ANZ Stadium is the same venue at which he debuted last year, but the 27-year-old is hoping for a completely different result this time.

And he's got a couple of pretty fair reasons for wanting to be part of a big NSW victory winning the big games is just about the only thing that has eluded him on the football field in the past 18 months.

''When you see highlights or replays and you see the New Zealanders holding that World Cup and singing the song it still burns,'' Monaghan told The Canberra Times.

For more, pick up a copy of today's Canberra Times