Key events
“That’s what Origin’s all about. All the way to the 80th minute,” puffs an exhausted Tedesco.
Nathan Cleary and James Tedesco have battled plenty of Origin demons in their careers but those moments late in this game will be their legacies.
Accor Stadium is rocking. Blues players are overjoyed. Queenslanders look haunted.
NSW 22-20 Queensland
Magnificent.
CONVERSION! NSW 22-20 Queensland (Cleary, 80)
One of the greatest comebacks in Origin history is complete.
TRY! NSW 20-20 Queensland (Tedesco, 79)
Wow. Just wow. What a sport. What a rivalry. What a moment. The bomb soared into the Moore Park night sky. Rain cascading from the heavens. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow is stood underneath it ready to swallow it up. But in comes James Tedesco like a heat seeking missile. With eyes only for the ball the veteran sprints, leaps, and plucks the Steeden like a seeker nabbing the golden snitch. Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.
78 mins: Nothing happens for five tackles with a couple of ropey passes needing fishing. Cleary bombs on the last…
77 mins: Starting on their own 20m line Queensland begin the long slog downfield. Walker kicks to touch 25m out from the NSW line. The Blues will have two full sets you’d think to win this.
76 mins: NSW cut to the right early and Staggs almost crosses! Crichton then almost goes over on the left! Then Strange slips, gets tackled and passes the ball off the ground to concede a penalty! HOW ON EARTH ARE QUEENSLAND STILL IN THIS!?
75 mins: NSW are happy to accept tackles for four drives. Tedesco tries to cut to the right on five. Then on the last another Cleary cross-field bomb is knocked-on in the air by Queensland! This is agonising.
73 mins: From the restart the Blues get to work. They go wide to the right on tackle four and Staggs crosses halfway. Barnett leads them to the 30 before Cleary sends up a bomb that Fifita can’t handle! This is extraordinary. 13 v 12 looks like men v boys right now. Surely the Blues score again soon.
CONVERTED TRY! NSW 16-20 Queensland (Cleary, 71)
NSW draw men in for three tackles with Strange busy. McLean tries to snipe over from dummy-half but is held up on his back. Then the ball goes wide with a sense of inevitability but Munster dives and gets his fingertips around Staggs’ ankles. The Queensland skipper holds on a fraction too long and with the Blues shaping for a last tackle play the siren sounds for six-again! Exhausted, Queensland are powerless to withstand Barnett punching another hole in the defensive line allowing Cleary to skip under the posts.
The halfback adds the extras. Six points to the little master, all the product of his brilliant 40-20.
69 mins: Radley puts a shoulder shaped hole in Grant’s sternum with an almighty whack. Queensland stand their ground and Munster kicks deep to the left corner on the last. It’s along way for the Blues to travel. Too long on this occasion. Not that Nathan Cleary matters, with nothing on he angles and stabs an inch perfect 40-20! What sport we are being treated to. This is peerless.
68 mins: Barnett with the high tackle and Queensland finally get a breath. they remain on the ropes, but still alive, for now.
67 mins: ONE OF THE GREAT BUTCHERED TRIES IN ORIGIN HISTORY! The Blues look like scoring at will every time they take possession. Strange does much of the hard work down the left, then with 10 metres to travel, and a four on one overlap on the right, Tedesco sends a pass to the laces of the exhausted Olakau’atu instead of running the ball himself or handing off the simple assist. That was the stuff of nightmares.
65 mins: What is going on! NSW are now playing like the Fiji Sevens. They are picking gaps at will, opening up the 12-man Queensland defence. To’o almost breaks around the outside on the right. Then Cleary kicks cross-field to McLean on the left who almost has a sight of the line before passing backwards. The ball goes to ground and after a series of fumbles eventually the Maroons breathe a sigh of relief.
TRY! NSW 10-20 Queensland (Strange, 63)
Queensland did everything right, gaining metres down the left with Tabuai-Fidow and Capewell. Walker lofted a lovely bomb. But McLean flies like Superman, takes the mark, bounces to his feet and breaks the defensive line. The Maroons are all over the field like discarded shotgun shells. Strange spots the opportunity and darts to the left. He feeds Crichton who can launch into the open field. Queenslanders hurl themselves at the Bulldog but can’t get any purchase. It’s like a steeplechase for the centre, hurdling over bodies as he spins and finds the onrushing Strange in support – the Raider perfectly placed to accept the offload and dive over in the left corner! Scintilating counterattacking rugby league.
Cleary narrowly drags his conversion wide.
61 mins: From point blank range NSW can’t engineer any space for five tackles. On the last Strange tries to manipulate something, finds Crichton to his left with a gap to dart into but he’s hauled in just short of the line. The Maroons dodge another bullet.
60 mins: The Maroons need a steadying set and a solid kick, which is what they get, but McLean does brilliantly to mark coming forward – his first touch of the ball in Origin footy. And his teammates are quickly on the attack. There is a verve to the Blues now with possession and they make 60m with ease. Then the bomb goes up, Tabuai-Fidow marks it, Tedesco is on the ground behind play and NSW get another soft obstruction penalty. Nikora protests his innocence and convinces a captain’s challenge but the bunker is unmoved.
58 mins: And just like that, two tackles of 13 v 12 and NSW score! Cleary holds up play under the posts, waits for Strange to runaround behind him, busts through Munster’s tackle and dives over to the delight of Accor Stadium. What a momentous couple of minutes.
But hang on. Replays show Olakau’atu running into Grant as a decoy runner. The bunker is going to get involved again. AND THE TRY IS RULED OUT! Queensland escape – for now.
PONGA SENT OFF!
57 mins: WOW! It’s all gone off! NSW finally get some space and expand to the left. Koula has some green grass to run into down the left wing, over the 40, the 30, the 20, then he’s scragged by Walker and absolutely collected by Ponga! Spot fires erupt after the hit. Koula is cut above his right eye. What happened? Replays show Ponga tucked his shoulder, hit the Blue and sent him to the deck with mighty force. There was head-to-head contact in the process. Was it accidental? Was it deliberate? What will the bunker determine? PONGA WALKS!
56 mins: Crichton claims the drop out almost unopposed! Big win for the Blues. But there is nothing from them coming out of their own territory and Olakau’atu looks out on his feet. NSW need something to spark them into life again.
And that could be it! Queensland go left and Cobbo tries to go around the outside of Staggs but the Bronco is too good and takes man and ball on halfway. Can NSW finally offer something?
56 mins: Cleary does superbly to rush off the line and wrap up Munster as Queensland begin to expand. Young then dumps the opposition skipper as he drifts to the right. That attack went nowhere and achieved little. Walker turns it into something promising though with a millimetre perfect kick on the last, forcing Koula to mark spectacularly under pressure but land in-goal to force a drop-out.
54 mins: Much like the first half NSW’s attack is blunt, relying almost entirely on Cleary’s boot for yardage. Queensland have much more run and effervescence allowing Munster to bomb from 30m – but To’o redeems himself with a magnificent high mark. That was spectacular. But the Blues are in quicksand coming out of defence… and Cleary runs on the last! Murray is scragged on the 30m line and Queensland have another opportunity. But NSW think there’s high contact. Perhaps stung by the earlier call on Plath? Cleary challenges – and there’s nothing to it. That is a soft burn. The Maroons have A1 field position and all the run.
52 mins: From 10m out Queensland reject the two points in search of more. They make little inroads for five tackles but then Ponga enters the line on the last to add some momentum, spinning and passing out to Toia who is inches from the line but is repelled by some superb defence by Koula. Will the Maroons regret not taking the two?
50 mins: NSW make little ground coming out of defence but Queensland drive briskly to the 30m line with Capewell busy. Walker can launch a dangerous bomb that Plath marks in the contest but he’s smothered as he returns to earth. But before NSW can restart play Munster asks for a captain’s challenge for high contact on Plath. The bunker doesn’t need long to reveal Young clotheslining the Dolphin after his initial contact below the waist.
48 mins: THE BLUES LOSE POSSESSION COMING OUT OF DEFENCE AGAIN! What is happening? Queensland camp themselves deep in the attacking half but Toia has an almighty brain fade and tries to chip and chase his own grubber, to no effect. With so many skilled ball players inside him that really was a poor decision.
46 mins: Cobbo wins the contested mark 12m out to win the drop-out for his side! The atmosphere inside Accor Stadium audibly deflates. Queensland, then NSW, exchange sets either side of halfway, until Ponga almost breaks the line coming out of defence, offloading riskily to Cobbo, who does well to retain possession. Ponga again leads the Queensland attack, playing like a second five-eighth, driving the Blues to distraction.
44 mins: Tedesco gets his side moving down the right, then Olakau’atu shows his grunt before YET ANOTHER PLAY-THE-BALL error gifts the ball back to Queensland. Daley holds his hands over his face in disbelief. But the Maroons hand the ball straight back from behind the scrum! Murray hitting Toia second man and dislodging the ball in contact.
The Blues are now on the attack inside the Maroons’ 20. Cleary kicks early looking to turn Ponga around but the fullback is alive to it and concedes the dropout.
42 mins: NSW only make 20m slowly until Olakau’atu gets them moving on the right edge. Murray adds some impetus, then Strange snipes, and the Blues are up and running for the half. Queensland take no risks, drive to halfway, then Munster launches high to the nervy To’o, who does well and breaks the first tackle for good measure on the counter.
The teams are back out for the second half. Can NSW complete a comeback for the ages?
That could hardly have gone better for Queensland in enemy territory. All their ball players have shone in greasy conditions with Ponga and Walker in particular justifying the faith shown in them by Billy Slater. At 0-20 there was a very real prospect of a record mauling on the cards, until …
If NSW somehow recover they will owe almost everything to one brutal hit by debutant Ethan Strange on Cameron Munster with the Queensland skipper getting to work in his side’s red zone. The tackle, dislodging the ball in the process, changed the momentum of the half. A set restart and a dubious penalty later and the Blues were on the board with their first real attack.
Unforced errors have been Laurie Daley’s side’s problem with loose carries and play-the-ball failures gifting possession and field position to their opponents. Uncharacteristically Brian To’o has been responsible for three of those, including two clangers. Elsewhere, Olakau’atu has led the charge up front while Tedesco has been the overall standout, defending the high ball with aplomb and threatening repeatedly to cut through the Queensland defensive line on the counter.
Half-time: NSW 6-20 Queensland
NSW run on the last for the first time all night and catch Queensland by surprise. It ends with Staggs kicking high but Ponga is equal to it. The Blues then lay a couple of massive hits – including Murray flattening Fifita – to keep the visitors in their own half, but the Maroons continue to attack, thinking they have a free hit with the half-time whistle looming. It almost comes off too but the long pass out to the left drifts forward and NSW return to pack a scrum in midfield and offer Cleary the outside chance of a two-point field goal. The set up is well executed but the kick itself lacks power and the two teams head to the sheds.
39 mins: Capewell has been split wide open and walks off like a beaten MMA fighter. Ponga and Munster continue to bounce around like purple tiggers, giving Walker field position to launch another bomb, that yet again Tedesco does superbly to defuse under high pressure.
37 mins: Queensland get back to work and try to break down the left through Ponga and Cobbo. Walker bombs but Tedesco is secure yet again and the Blues can run it to halfway, Olakau’atu leading the charge.
35 mins: Finally Queensland cough up possession from some loose handling! They got away with two let-offs but now Munster can’t find Ponga 40m out in centre field and the Blues can pounce. There’s a six-again early in the set and the 10m zone is soon breached. Can NSW capitalise? Robson takes control on tackle four, kicking deliberately into the post from 5m out. Then there’s a scramble between Capewell and Murray – both men desperately trying to recover the bouncing ball like movie heroes trying to smother a live grenade. Capewell grasps at fresh air. Murray gets it! But did he knock on? Klein rules no-try on field. The TMO? Not only no-try, but a Queensland penalty for Murray interfering with Capewell in their duel. Huge let-off for the Maroons.
33 mins: Now it’s Ponga’s turn to show his brilliance under the high ball, marking and flying almost horizontally before landing on his back. Queensland again make a mess trying to expand through hands but recover before they can be punished – then Walker kicks long and handsomely into the open space to turn Tedesco on his heels and steady his side down. That was such a mature intervention from the debutant. He is to the manor born.
32 mins: Grant snipes from dummy-half to take his side to halfway, then some risky possession somehow avoids the worst with Tabuai-Fidow juggling the ball safely to Ponga. The kick is again high to Tedesco – who does magnificently to mark and rebound, almost breaking the defence line until Walker gets enough of the fullback’s jersey.
30 mins: Queensland make 60m in return. Munster is having a night out, Ponga is electric, and Plath has been quietly busy. Walker kicks high but Tedesco is equal to it. The Blues are risking little coming out of defence now, happy to drive one-out and wait for Cleary to kick for field position.
29 mins: NSW are solid with the restart set and we now have a game on our hands.
CONVERTED TRY! NSW 6-20 Queensland (Young, 27)
With decent field position for the first time all night Cleary shows his class, waiting for the Queensland defence to rush up to smother him then dabbing a no-look grubber for Young sprint on to and touch down just before he runs out of space. That Strange tackle may well have been worth 12 points.
Cleary makes light work of the extra two points.
26 mins: Suddenly the Blues have spirit. Crichton runs hard, Strange is dynamic, and halfway is passed for the first time in an age. The kick goes up on the last, Cobbo marks it, but Tedesco buys a penalty for running into the back of a Queensland defender and Klein gives NSW a lifeline.
25 mins: Toia is everywhere. Ponga is like a ringmaster. Queensland are buzzing with so much confidence. Then BANG! Strange absolutely pummels Munster man and ball and NSW finally have something to shout about. That was a huge huge Origin moment for the debutant and the kind of hit that can spark a revival.
