It was a new generation of New South Wales stars who ran out in Origin 1 in Sydney on Wednesday night. But they staggered off with the same pain of their forebears, blown apart 38-10 by a ruthless Queensland side hurtling toward a third successive series victory under coach Billy Slater. In a spectacle spoilt by the send off of Joseph Sua’ali’i for a high hit on Maroons star Reece Walsh in the eighth minute, a Blues-heavy crowd of 77,214 was left to rue a costly home defeat and face down another sudden-death scenario in Melbourne on 26 June.
With injuries ravaging both sides, new-look teams ran out on a cold night under clear skies in Sydney. Most eyes were on new Nicho Hynes, recalled as NSW halfback after his horror cameo at right centre in the 26-18 defeat in Adelaide last year. But the rust evident in his 46-0 shocker for the Sharks last weekend followed him to Accor. In the fourth minute Hynes’ first kick ran long, gifting Queensland seven tackles and momentum. The Maroons rolled forward at speed, giving Daly Cherry-Evans space to jink right then left from dummy half. As three Blues converged, he looped a ball inside to Ben Hunt who took a low road to the line for 6-0.
