Summary
That’s more than enough from me for one series. Thank you for joining me for one of the great sporting spectacles. It was a pleasure to be on the tools tonight to enjoy that with you all. Congratulations Queensland.
I’ll leave you with Angus Fontaine’s match report, but stay tuned for more reaction and insight over the coming days.
“I don’t know if I feel any more prouder than my children being born than I do right now,” beams an overjoyed Billy Slater.
I nearly forgot Ben Hunt. His 40-20 was a massive momentum changer, and then his try, my word, that try will join the all-time Origin highlight reel.
STARBOY. ⭐#Origin pic.twitter.com/ZABYNVFfPs
— NRL (@NRL) July 13, 2022
Then there’s the full blooded scrap between Gagai and Burton, the three early concussions, the numerous TMO try reviews, Holmes’s superman dive to keep the short restart in play, Burton’s massive bomb, Ponga running for 299 metres... and more besides.
The wash-up from tonight will be fascinating. From all the celebration of Queensland’s fortitude, and their big-game playmakers stepping up when it counted, to New South Wales’s inability to see off a series as favourites for the second time in three years. For the Blues, tonight was all about a couple of fractional costly mistakes, ones that will haunt Daniel Tupou and Nathan Cleary until next year’s series.
Phew, I am drained. That was a heck of a night. A heck of a series. State of Origin never fails to deliver.
“This is the best place in Straya to play rugby league!” bellows Daly Cherry-Evans. “This is what we do it for,” he announces, before lifting the Origin shield and being engulfed by teammates.
Patrick Carrigan named Wally Lewis Medalist
What an achievement for the rookie forward. He made a massive impact in Origin I and put in an almighty shift in the middle tonight.
It’s presentation time on Suncorp Stadium.
#QLDER #UnitedinMaroon pic.twitter.com/XgKkuVHT2g
— Queensland Maroons (@QLDmaroons) July 13, 2022
Billy Slater wins his first Origin series as coach, recovering from a hammering in game two, missing his star five-eighth, down to 15 players early in the first-half, behind on the scoreboard and clinging on at half-time, and underdogs throughout. Maybe he was right pregame about their being magic in that Maroon jersey?
Nathan Cleary was clearly hurting. “It sucks but we have to take it,” he told Paul Gallen. “There was no excuse for that. Especially the start to the second half. Just put us in a bad position. We didn’t react well enough...We made too many mistakes and you can’t do it in Origin games and you pay for it in Origin games and you pay for it.”
Cherry-Evans again, who was magnificent tonight with his long kicking game. “It’s special. I haven’t won too many. So each onet hat you do win you hold them close to your heart. Any time you get to finish a series here in front of your home fans, it just means so much more. We did in front of our fans, friends and family against all the odds and it makes it so special.”
Back to Ben Hunt: “Mate, as a rugby league player there is nothing better, honestly. As a true Queenslander, I bloody love our fans and they turn up every year for us.”
“We did it again,” beams a tearful Daly Cherry-Evans.
Ben Hunt, speaking to Darren Lockyer on-field, puffing hard, captures the mood of his clinching try. “Ooh, mate, when I caught it I was looking early and I was pretty happy looking over at a forward chasing me and my little pig trotters had the distance.” Far out.
Extraordinary.
Full-time: Queensland 22-12 NSW
Queensland’s miraculous Maroons have won the most brilliant of Origin deciders at Suncorp Stadium. That was the most thrilling sporting spectacle.
GOAL! Queensland 22-12 NSW (Holmes, 80)
Valentine Holmes adds a full stop. It is going to be one hell of party in Brisbane tonight.
Queensland, eh? How do they do it? How do they always bloody do it?
This has been an unforgettable night, and that was a moment right up there with the very best in modern sport.
TRY! Queensland 20-12 NSW (Hunt, 79)
I HAVE SEEN IT ALL. AAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!
Who needs words? On the last tackle Cleary tries to chip and chase but Hunt turns a smother into an intercept, then runs 70m downfield, gassed, and somehow reaches the corner ahead of the chasing Yeo. BEN HUNT WINS ORIGIN FOR QUEENSLAND!
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78 mins: Another kick, another Tupou return run to 20m. A long way from home for the Blues. Still in their own half at tackle four.
77 mins: Queensland remain disciplined despite NSW throwing everything at them for five tackles. Cleary’s bomb is testing but Gagai is solid under it like a fielder at third-man holding onto a spiralling top-edge. “Queenslander!” reverberates around Suncorp Stadium.
76 mins: Queensland drive to halfway. DCE kicks long. Tupou runs to 20m to start one of their final drives.
75 mins: NSW reach halfway on four tackles. Cook darts, then Tedesco. Last tackle, Cleary kicks, there’s chaos after the bounce on the 10m line. Trbojevic has a kick! In all my livelong days. But Queensland have enough bodies to cover.
74 mins: NSW have done incredibly to not find themselves down and out in the past ten or so minutes, but the onus remains on them to take the game on and find a try from somewhere. Tedesco does his best to wriggle yards but Cleary is again forced to kick from range and Ponga eats it up from fullback. Hunt and Arrow take the home side well over halfway. NSW look out on their feet. Ponga tries to take advantage spotting a gap, he looks outside to Oates but the pass is just behind the winger and NSW finally get a breather.
73 mins: What a defensive set from Queensland. Cleary was forced to kick from his own 10m line. It then bounced back about 20m after landing into Burton’s hands to kick for a second time! But Oates still rebounded with interest in the Blues’ half. Ponga takes over, jinking one way to the other and offloading in the tackle. Another DCE pitch on the angle to the right corner, the contest is messy, the ball spills, but it’s a knock-on against Capewell.
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71 mins: Cleary with the short line drop-out - and it’s inches from perfection but Valentine Holmes flies like Superman to keep the ball alive and it’s rescued by a Maroon jersey. Queensland continue to probe, Grant and Ponga are everywhere. Fa’asuamaleaui loses in contact but it goes backward. DCE kicks to To’o’s corner again and the chase is suffocating. NSW have no room to manoeuvre.
70 mins: Queensland go through the motions, keeping the ball safe. DCE kicks to the right corner, Burton takes the mark, but is soon bundled over the line.
69 mins: No try! The shark from dummy-half is ruled no try for being held up over the line. But it’s only tackle two, so Queensland keep pushing.
69 mins: ... and in no time Grant is over the line with three NSW defenders! Klein blows for a try, but is it conclusive?
68 mins: Grant and Dearden get to work, DCE takes a couple of steps, the Maroons are in sight of the line but big Tino can’t reach over. Queensland keep the ball alive. It’s not so much broken field as broken time and space. This is chaos. DCE kicks, To’o mops up. But what!? There’s a loose carry soon after. Queensland recycle the ball 10m from the line.
66 mins: Another early kick from DCE earns great territory - but it was on tackle two! Tackle two! Tedesco again leads the charge the other way and NSW make it to halfway but Talakai loses the ball at the ruck. He tried to milk a penalty but failed, and Queensland have great field position to establish some breathing room.
64 mins: Queensland have only had 15 men since the opening exchanges remember. they will have some very tired bodies in defence. With ball in hand they make it to halfway and DCE’s kick sends them further downfield but Tedesco sets up the comeback drive. Saifiti and Paulo are prominent, Cook is lively, Cleary and Luai link-up and suddenly the Blues are only 20m from home. The kick goes up but who else but Ponga runs it clear.
GOAL! Queensland 16-12 NSW (Holmes, 62)
Valentine Holmes makes no mistake with the conversion this time.
Can the Maroons defend their lead for 18 minutes?
TRY! Queensland 14-12 NSW (Ponga, 61)
This is scintillating sport. My goodness. From the drop-out Dearden almost breaks through but Tedesco lays a beautiful tackle. The ruck is quick and a series of short passes to the right allows Ponga to hit the line between tacklers, and he has enough thrust to pierce the gap, sidestep, and reach over. What an exclamation point in this game. How do Queensland keep doing this?
60 mins: Papalii tries to go through the middle. Then Grant, who offloads to no avail. DCE and Hunt keep the ball alive, but the Blue wall is tough. The move shifts to the left edge but Oates is repelled near the line. The attack returns to the right but Luai stops Ponga. Finally the kick has to come but DCE’s grubber is well defended under the posts. But then a massive brain fade! Saifiti does extraordinarily well driving out of defence, but for some reason he tries to offload, misses his target, and Tupou has to flop on a line drop-out!
20 minutes to go. This is staggering.
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58 mins: NSW drive into Queensland’s half, Cleary launches a mighty bomb, but Ponga not only deals with the defensive stuff with aplomb, he runs to the 30m line. Two tackles later Ben Hunt kicks a 40-20! The crowd is going nuts.
56: The Maroons try to score early in the set, drawing tacklers and flinging passes from centre to right wing, but each is successively more hurried until eventually a loopy over the head forward pass is called.
55 mins: Cook replaces Koroisau for NSW as the Blues drive from their own half into Queensland’s. It’s a set that ends with a poor Cleary kick though and Ponga tests the Blues’ defence with a jinking run. He has been very dangerous tonight the home No 1. Grant and Dearden marshal the drive and on the last the kick looks to have ricocheted for a repeat set off a blue boot, but it’s deemed play on. The second kick to the corner is cute and weighted perfectly, inciting NSW to respond from deep. Luai chooses to do just that but his pass just misses Talakai on the outside and Queensland have a full set 10m out.
52 mins: Carrigan jinks into contact, spins and unloads. Grant sharks. Dearden invites Holmes into the line. It’s tense and frenetic on the 10m line. DCE kicks on the last, the ball comes loose, Papalii is first to it - is it a try!? Ashley Klein says no! He reckons there was a knock-on from Nanai in the aerial contest - and the TMO agrees. Gee-whizz. This is an astonishing spectacle.
51 mins: Tedesco continues to hunt but Grant is alive to the danger. The Storm rake is then alert at dummy half to feed Ponga into the line at speed. Cherry-Evans again kicks early in the set and the chase is extraordinary, pinning Tupou to his line near the posts. How do they have the energy!? And three tackles into the set Talakai loses the ball in contact. Can the Maroons take advantage?
49 mins: Now it’s time for Queensland to attack, Nanai and Holmes wriggle free and find offloads - but Talakai - not long off the bench lands a superb tackle that forces the ball free! What an impact. This is breathless but increasingly ragged footy.
47 mins: DCE kicks long on three. Dearden leads the chase and Tedesco is scragged on his 20m line. That was a great tactical shift from the Maroon skipper. Koroisau and Cleary find offloads - the latter dumped by DCE after the ball - and the penalty goes to the Blues. Again, possession and territory to NSW, can they begin that constriction once more? No! Saifiti fumbles the play-the-ball and Queensland escape.
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45 mins: NSW grind to halfway on tackle three and are awarded a set restart. The rhythm of the first-half resumes. But not for long! Hunt executes a 1-1 strip on his own 20m line and relieves the pressure.
43 mins: NSW restart play and Angus Crichton is shaken in a tackle, but Saifiti smashes into the line, then Cleary grinds some metres. This is what boiling point looks like. Queensland retain their discipline and deny a kick on the last tackle. But NSW don’t mind, that just allows them to gang tackle Maroons jerseys with the intensity of vengeful superheroes. Queensland miss a target, Ponga is forced to scurry and gather and then launch a massive clearing kick.
That was some proper old-fashioned 3am outside the kebab shop toxic masculinity. Time for a breath and some calm heads.
Yellow Cards! Gagai & Burton (42)
Both pugilists are in the bin to cool down. 12 vs 12 at the start of the second half.
Updated
This is simmering. It could go off in Suncorp Stadium. All eyes on Ashley Klein.
Now, what about the melee? Gagai and Burton were smashing each other with haymakers.
42 mins: No try.
... DCE takes the game on, he chips off Tedesco, can he gather YES! Queensland score on the first carry.
Or do they? There is a melee behind play! Fists flying! Burton’s cheek is a mess! Gagai was in the thick of it. This will take an age to address.
... and it begins with a Ponga linebreak... he finds Grant on his inside. Queensland are away!
41 mins: The sixth and final half of Origin rugby league for 2022 is underway.
Ok, I’ve had a very juicy orange, and I’m ready for more. Both coaches have spoken to the TV reporters, Fittler looking like a suave uncle about to pick up his nephew from a prestigious private school without a care in the world. Slater more resembled a nervous new dad pacing the corridor outside a birthing suite.
Seriously. That was something else. So fast, so aggressive, and such a high level of footy skill on display. And it’s still all to play for with 40 minutes of the series remaining.
That said. Queensland are going to have to do something miraculous to escape with only two interchange and NSW dominating possession.
Half-time: Queensland 10-12 NSW
Holmes misses the conversion on the weak side and NSW head to the sheds two-points ahead.
That was incredible.
TRY! Queensland 10-12 NSW (Capewell, 40)
40 mins: It’s route-one stuff up the guts for four tackles - but the six-again klaxon rings to keep the pressure on. Then again! Queensland are pushing. Can they? They can’t, surely. THEY CAN! Grant grubbers on tackle two, Capewell reads it, there’s a melee on the line, the big forward-slash-back leaps into the sky and the home fans are cock-a-hoop. That was all Harry Grant. Brilliant from dummy-half.
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39 mins: A nondescript Queensland drive, but it ends with Tupou making a mess of a long DCE kick tot he sideline and suddenly the Maroons have a set in sight of the line!
38 mins: NSW run to halfway before inviting Burton to launch a - what I’m obliged to call a bomb - but in reality was a satellite. That was higher than the floodlights. The Webb telescope will have captured that.
36 mins: Queensland continue to hang in, and they have been helped by a decent number of soft NSW penalties. The latest, for an unfortunate Trbojevic obstruction, gives the MAroons the ball with only 25m to go. Can they change the momentum of the half? No. Fa’asuamaleaui grasses a terrible Hunt pass on the burst after the hooker had already sold a double-pump to wrongfoot his runner.
35 mins: NSW are making gains every set now. Yeo the latest to cross the gainline with bodies hanging off him. Tedesco already has 150 running metres. Queensland are knackered. They can’t gain a foothold in their exhausted pack, nor can they find room for their backs. The Blues need to cross again before half-time to make this superiority count.
Updated
CONVERTED TRY! Queensland 6-12 NSW (Saifiti, 32)
There we go. All that ball, all that territory, all those superb ballplayers, and it’s no surprise when the exhausted Queensland defensive line is breached by the steamroller that is Jacob Saifiti. The Knight has been outstanding off the bench on debut.
Cleary can’t miss from under the posts. Queensland are going to need something special in their half-time Gatorade bottles to find the energy to comeback after this blistering start.
31 mins: Pressure building deep in Queensland territory. The Panthers playmakers get to work in midfield but the Maroons hold their line - just about - and are happy with yet another line drop-out following the kick on the last tackle. There’s a try coming here, surely.
29 mins: NSW waste no time striking out of defence. A penalty on halfway is taken quickly by Cleary who darts to the 20m line. The Blues are in a hurry. Queensland make it to tackle five - Luai kicks, it bounces horribly for Ponga, and it’s another drop-out.
28 mins: Grant, on from the bench, is getting up to speed behind the ruck. He sets up a dart down the left that requires a big tackle from Tupou to stop. Grant again weaves magic behind the ruck, sending the eyes of the world inside then passing on his left to Dearden who offloads in the tackle to Holmes to score.... no! Forward pass in the final offload! That was borderline.
Updated
26 mins: Penalty Queensland. The home side were treading water in their own half but a late Trbojevic flop let them off the hook.
25 mins: Queensland again go to hands early in the set and try to probe on the right edge. They make it as far as halfway before DCE launches downfield. A rare straightforward set in response from the Blues, but it still featured another evasive carry from Tedesco and a massive stomp from Saifiti on his first Origin carry.
24 mins: NSW have clearly gained the upper hand here and another try looks in the offing on the left but Burton cannot find his overlap on the outside. The Blues return infield and Cleary kicks the most wicked check-side grubber that almost hits the upright and causes chaos on the line. Queensland struggle to clear, the ball spills loose like a bar of soap. Is there a try in that mess somewhere? No. Koroisau chasing was offside and the Maroons are relieved to have a clearing penalty.
22 mins: Fatigue is going to kick-in early tonight, especially for Queensland, and even earlier if Tedesco can continue to dash 40 metres after an Angus Crichton offload. Soon afterwards Stephen Crichton kicks cutely to force a line drop-out. This is unrelenting.
Updated
CONVERTED TRY! Queensland 6-6 NSW (Luai, 20)
And from that field position NSW move at lightspeed through rucks until Cleary stops time with the ball on a string. He dabs the Steeden onto his boot for Luai to dash onto and dive on - at the second attempt. What a partnership those Penrith halves are.
Cleary makes no mistake with the simple conversion.
Updated
19 mins: Queensland are playing some footy tonight, trying to find offloads and keep the ball alive when you think they’re better off keeping things simple. It almost pays off when Ponga recovers a chargedown, breaks the line and almost gets free before Luai lays the tackle. The ball gets shifted to the right like Sevens union but the combinations are just off and NSW get the turnover in decent field position.
17 mins: NSW get a full set from halfway, and it’s soon honoured with a six-again. Paulo eats up about half the required distanced with his massive thighs dragging the earth along for the ride. The defence holds steady though and Ponga is alert to Cleary’s neat dabbed kick.
16 mins: Queensland invite trouble with a missed pass inside their own 10m line. Dearden recovers, just, but DCE has to kick from his own 20m line.
GOAL! Queensland 6-0 NSW (Holmes, 15)
From just to the left of the posts Holmes takes his tally to six valuable points.
What a crazy start to this Origin decider.
TRY! Queensland 4-0 NSW (Holmes, 14)
Queensland’s early pressure tells! From good attacking territory in the middle of the field after the drop-out, Dearden reads the line superbly, drifting to his left and firing a bullet into the chest of the onrushing Val Holmes who busts through two tacklers and darts over the line and towards the posts. First blood to the Maroons!
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12 mins: Trbojevic and Koroisau carry well as NSW up the ante. Cleary almost sends Martin through a gap but Dearden nails a vital tackle. Momentum ebbs away with a loose pass and the series ends with Cleary overhitting his grubber allowing the Maroons to clear. And boy do they clear! There’s a linebreak on the right. Capewell gallops clear. He has a man on his outside.... but he chips and chases instead! The big forward-cum-centre vs Tedesco - and there’s only one winner. But Queensland are not done. It’s 2001-02 era defensive pressure with tackle after tackle scragging NSW behind the line and forcing a dropout. This is rugby league on even more steroids.
10 mins: NSW are having to work really hard to get near halfway. Queensland have the bit between their teeth, but perhaps a bit too much with Fa’asuamaleaui at risk of a yellow card for a swinging arm on Burton that gifts the Blues their first attacking territory of the night.
Confirmation Cobbo and Collins are both out for Queensland.
8 mins: NSW, led by the terrier Tedesco up the guts, cross halfway but Luai’s kick, like Burton’s before, is poor under pressure. Queensland respond with their own fullback Ponga darting forward. He breaks on the left and a tackle later the ball is wide on the right through hands. Dearden and Gilbert accept contact, the former ending the set with a bomb under the posts. The ball comes to ground, Papalii crumbs, and jogs over for a try! Or is it? Klein signals no try on-field, so we go to the TMO. Good call. There was a knock-on from Nanai in the contest for the ball in the air.
Updated
6 mins: Queensland keep it within the pack for four tackles and earn a set restart. Then the offloads start coming: Fa’asuamaleaui, Papalii, the Maroons are rumbling, there’s space to the right, Ponga enters the line, he throws the cutout pass - and Gagai isn’t on the same wavelength and the ball bobbles into touch.
5 mins: Burton’s first kick of the night.... is not good. He was under pressure, skied it, and the ball landed and bounced backwards into touch well inside NSW territory. First attacking platform of the night for either side.
Oh my. ANOTHER MAROON is down. Lindsay Collins this time is off his feet after being cannonballed by Tupou in contact. Fa’asuamaleaui is on while Collins has an HIA.
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4 mins: Cleary finishes the delayed set with another kick from deep. In response his forwards grind Oates into the turf to a chorus of “oohs” from the stands. That was a bone rattler. The Maroons keep on trucking and Cherry-Evans kicks a dangerous bomb that Tedesco has to do well to defuse.
Confirmed that Cam Murray is OUT.
A reshuffle for Queensland with Gilbert on, Gagai to the wing, Capewell to the centre. Deary me.
“So far, so brutal,” remarks my editor. This has been gladiatorial in barely ten carries.
2 mins: The remainder of the set is solid and ends with Hunt kicking cutely behind To’o, and the chase is fierce. BOSH! The second tackle sees another player down - Cobbo this time - he is out cold as his head is collected by Carrigan’s hip as five Queenslanders pound into Burton like asteroids colliding into a planet.
Cobbo will leave the field on a stretcher. Not even three sets in and we’re down to 16 vs 16!
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2 mins: Inject that kick-off into my veins! Vintage Origin opening set with Paulo leading NSW from their own line and into a wall of Queensland defenders. Oates takes the first hit for the hosts after Cleary is forced to kick from deep, and he pounds into Murray - there’s a head clash - and the NSW No 11 looks very groggy indeed. He might be gone for the night. Crichton is off the bench.
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Kick-off!
The Origin decider is underway...
The welcome to country is a breezy belter. The national anthem however sounds like it’s accompanied by a 1980s Bontempi keyboard set to bosanova. Very odd.
The caterwauls somehow manage to gain in volume as the Maroons jog out. They are positive cries of support, but it sounds frenzied and feverish, like a rapture.
And you guessed it, the Maroons (pronounced mar-own) are wearing... maroon (pronounced mar-oon).
The Blues are out onto Suncorp Stadium accompanied by a thunderous round of boos. They are, as you might expect, dressed in blue.
Mate vs mate, state vs state, PR op vs PR op.
'We saw you from across the bar and really dig your vibe...'#Origin pic.twitter.com/wY8cJAyBQf
— Chris Chard (@Vic_Arious) July 13, 2022
I hate to labour the point on this, but where else in the world, and at what other time of year do you get to enjoy such pure uncut Strayan gold?
rip to the sound guy lmaooo YAA GRUUUUUUUUUBBBSS #Origin pic.twitter.com/PUGS8iwF5U
— Evan Morgan Grahame (@Evan_M_G) July 13, 2022
Back to live, and Slater has just given his final pre-match interview. I’m not going to lie, he looked like he was bricking it. “It’s fantastic,” he replied unconvincingly to Paul Vautin’s Dorothy Dixer. “Really enjoying the moment here. The boys are up and about in their warm-up. How exciting. I’m sure there’s five million Queenslanders out there ready for this one.”
Queensland coaches Billy Slater and Johnathan Thurston are going through one of those classic Origin pre-recorded bombastic pieces of nonsense fluff that’s meant to sound like Wilfred Owen but comes out more wooden than a cricket stump. Just picture yourself reading sheepishly to class in year nine: “The fabric of these jerseys does more than just hold them together. It’s the fabric of our states.”
Conditions are cool and clear and dry in Brisbane, but there is a decent westerly breeze that is sure to make Matt Burton’s garryowens even more menacing. The Wallabies were on the same stretch of turf on Saturday night, so it might not be the best surface underfoot.
The Channel Nine live cross to Penrith leagues club, where a female Blues fan yelled “get a cockroach up ya” to Maroons fans, is absolutely a lock for all of the Logies next year #origin
— Josh Butler (@JoshButler) July 13, 2022
Anyone tuning it from outside Australia, I can confirm a young lady on live TV just yelled “GET A COCKROACH UP YA!” into the microphone and nobody batted an eyelid.
For context, NSW are known disparagingly as the cockroaches, and Queensland the cane toads.
Brad Fittler has just spoken to Gus Gould. He was calm, chipper, and confident. “Preparation has been good. From the point of view that we had a mishap earlier with Jordan McLean and it was most inconvenient from a team point of view, and obviously Nicho Hynes stayed at home. Apart from that, they trained really well...The one thing we spoke about is how they’re thinking. That’s the one thing we combat we have to take them to that fight. They’re pretty quiet, a good frame of mind to be in.”
Your referee tonight is, once again, Ashley Klein, who makes it a hat-trick of Origins with the whistle. Let’s hope he’s not too busy.
Brendon (AKA 20charactersNoSpaces) is tuning in from the other side of the world, and he still likes the Maroons.
“Greetings from sunny Copenhagen, where my Covid isolation ends in a couple of hours time & I can leave my hotel room once more! Despite losing Munster I still expect Qld to win. NSW are likely to choke again because they‘re favourites, as they often do.”
Signing off with: “Say hi to Harry for me, & enjoy the game!”
I enjoy a story that opens: “Queenslanders who need more of Wally Lewis than his statue can offer will soon be able to get into bed with him.” I hope there’s a Nate Myles corridor.
NSW XVII
Brad Fittler shook up his selection before Origin II and it worked so well he’s barely needed to touch his side for the decider. He has had to replace Payne Haas, who misses out with a shoulder injury, as well as the logical replacement Jordan McLean to a hamstring. The outcome is Jacob Saifiti finds a place in the 17.
NSW: James Tedesco (captain), Brian To’o, Matt Burton, Stephen Crichton, Daniel Tupou, Jarome Luai, Nathan Cleary, Junior Paulo, Api Koroisau, Jake Trbojevic, Cameron Murray, Liam Martin, Isaah Yeo. Interchange: Damien Cook, Angus Crichton, Jacob Saifiti, Siosifa Talakai.
Queensland XVII
When extended squads were announced Queensland presented a united front despite the mauling in Perth. Felise Kaufusi was the only premeditated change with the veteran forward unavailable due to family reasons, replaced in the squad by North Queensland debutant Tom Gilbert, and in the run-on 13 by fellow Cowboy Jeremiah Nanai.
But then the news broke that Cameron Munster and Murray Taulagi had both failed Covid tests, forcing a late reshuffle. Slater responded by handing a debut to 21-year-old Tom Dearden at five-eighth with Corey Oates coming in on the wing.
Queensland: Kalyn Ponga, Selwyn Cobbo, Valentine Holmes, Dane Gagai, Corey Oates, Tom Dearden, Daly Cherry-Evans (captain), Lindsay Collins, Ben Hunt, Josh Papalii, Kurt Capewell, Jeremiah Nanai, Patrick Carrigan. Interchange: Harry Grant, Jai Arrow, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, Tom Gilbert.
Going into battle. ✊#Origin pic.twitter.com/yL2KFAIubv
— NRL (@NRL) July 13, 2022
HarryofOz is here; he’s always here. “Despite the match being played at Suncorp, I would still have made the Blues slight favourites and the absence of Munster has tipped the scales more towards NSW,” he emails. “Having said that, as we saw in the first two games, the team that won the forward battle went on to win the match. But, if neither pack dominates, then I’d give NSW the edge in the halves and spine, especially with Munster out. Come on you Blues!” Hard to disagree Harry.
Kalyn Ponga has just had a word with Channel Nine. “This is what dreams are about. I’m looking forward to the experience,” the Maroons fullback said.
Blue half Jarome Luai couldn’t have been more laidback if he was speaking to Paul Gallen on a lounger with a pina colada in his hand. How is he feeling? “Pretty chilled,” he says, “it’s us against them. Win or die.” What does he have to do? “The tough stuff, get in there early, do it for my brothers.”
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The 2002 series features prominently for me. I was a wasted backpacker in Cairns, and the town was plastered with GOrDen Tallis posters, emphasising his divine status. I took it all in at the infamous Woolshed, trying but failing to spend the bar tab I’d earned for winning an earlier trivia night. There might have been dancing on tables to Groove is the Heart.
Dwayne Grant takes us down memory lane with his rundown of Origin deciders.
All the logic points to a Blues win, but in his scene-setter Nick Tedeschi refuses to write off the Maroons.
Much is said about Suncorp, but it remains true that Queensland’s ability to find the right stuff when it matters at this venue is becoming the stuff of legend. In the past 14 games at Suncorp when the series was still alive, the Maroons have won 13. They have won seven straight game threes including five straight deciders. Home-field advantage is an often-overplayed cliche, but in this case it could prove critical in adding another famous chapter to Queensland folklore.
Preamble
Hello everybody and welcome to the third and final instalment of State of Origin rugby league for 2022. Queensland and New South Wales kick-off in their deciding clash at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium at 8.10pm.
A quick update, in case Wimbledon, the Wallabies or Le Tour have messed with your memory recently.
The unfancied Maroons stunned in Sydney in Origin I, but the Penrith-dominated Blues bounced back with a resounding victory in Perth in Origin II, which means it’s all to play for at fortress Suncorp, a venue where the visitors have not won a deciding rubber since 2005. We should be in for an Origin classic.
Or maybe not. Into the works this week came a spanner the size of something only the James Webb telescope could capture with the news Queensland mischief maker, Wally Lewis Medal contender, and big-game guarantee Cameron Munster has been ruled out with Covid. Without their star No 6, the Maroons are an enormously depleted unit.
But this is all part of the Origin myth-making. Into Munster’s shoes will step a soon-to-be hero, or so Billy Slater hopes. It’s how Queensland roll.
Nevertheless, they will be in the unfamiliar position of underdogs on home soil. Brad Fittler’s group has class to spare and intrigue in the Blues camp is over who is being left out, not ruled out, such is the strength in depth of a side that can deal without the likes of Tom Trbojevic and Latrell Mitchell.
I’m off to put a brew on so I’m fully charged for the build-up. I’ll leave you with my contacts details in case you want to join in the conversation. Feel free to drop me an email or tweet at your leisure.
