Queensland's debutants delivered on the hype and their main men fired to end a five-year Sydney State of Origin drought.
Rookie coach Billy Slater's bold selection to pick four debutants paid off in Sydney on Wednesday night, with Pat Carrigan, Reuben Cotter and Selwyn Cobbo all key factors in the 16-10 win.
The fourth, Jeremiah Nanai had his own dramas too, overcoming a nasty ankle injury to return in the second half and relieve what had become a two-man bench after Xavier Coates' first-half injury.
Cobbo's individual brilliance set up the first try, a nice pick-up and kick in-field finding Dane Gagai.
Carrigan (145 run metres, 25 tackles) was the man who swung the momentum when he came off the bench in the first half and Cotter (49 tackles) was rock solid.
That allowed playmakers Daly Cherry-Evans, man-of-the-match Cameron Munster and Kalyn Ponga to go to work.
And that they did, Cherry-Evans slicing through for a try, Ponga setting up two with sublime passing and Munster's goosestep sure to haunt the Blues until they meet again in Perth on June 26.
A 16-4 lead was reduced to six when Cameron Murray scored with seven minutes to play.
Munster lobbed up again with the Blues on the charge, pinching possession as the visitors held firm in a frantic final five minutes.
Not since game two of the 2017 series - the last time Slater and his assistants Cameron Smith and Johnathan Thurston all played together - have Queensland won in the NSW capital.
They now head to Perth in the box seat, with a luxury of a third game at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium on July 13.
