Updated ,first published
This is not how it was supposed to end. Some will argue that it should not have gotten to this point.
And yet, despite dominating the opening two games, Queensland have been left stunned by the State of Origin’s fluidity. while New South Wales bounced back in the face of harsh criticism with a 30-12 win at Suncorp Stadium.
Having dominated for all 23 minutes in the match between Sydney and Melbourne, the attack of the Maroons at home seemed inevitable, as the storm was ignited by the coach of The Blues, Laurie Daley after demolishing 44-24 in the second match.
But ultimately, Queensland couldn’t win by a single minute, nor stop their offense away from a team that had completed 95 per cent in their last match.
“We put a lot of pressure on ourselves. Making 14 mistakes in a Nature game puts a lot of pressure on your defence, and they were enough to capitalize and score,” Maroons captain Cameron Munster said.
“I felt like our defensive effort was there, but it took a lot of gas out of us. Unfortunately, we couldn’t continue when we had the ball.
“Sometimes when you’re that defensive, it takes away your attacking power and takes away your bite. We didn’t enjoy our time, and it’s very disappointing, especially at home.”
Again the first six of the contest went the way of the Blues, changing the momentum. When Jack Bostock and Mark Nawaqanitawase would both hit forwards as chances moved – the last came after Reuben Cotter’s ball dropped from a narrow clearance – the pressure mounted.
Queensland fullback Sam Walker’s attempt went straight to James Tedesco’s throat, and Selwyn Cobbo’s failure to deliver Nathan Cleary’s bomb sent the home side reeling.
Cleary would soon go ahead, and he had his second try of the decider after six more games to get the Blues on the march – Liam Martin’s stoppage time goal opening up Stephen Crichton and Nawaqanitawase to create the chance.
Two more mistakes from Cobbo also proved costly.
His first was a touchdown when Queensland opened up a clearance, while the second came as he eased Cleary to claim a direct steal. Cameron Murray would score the Blues’ third try from a new set piece.
Any chance the Maroons had to regain momentum, after Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow equalized for his 15th Origin try, was also snuffed out by a foul, with Englishman Nikora’s hand up Bostock’s head giving away a penalty against the game.
The iron defense of the Maroons seemed to disappear. In the first half alone, they missed 30 shots to the Blues’ 10 – Munster moving Martin forward for Cleary’s second try, the most impressive moment.
Any half-time adjustments from coach Billy Slater were quickly forgotten, as Kurt Capewell’s carry in the opening half of the second half put them right under the pump again. While the Maroons defense held firm for two sets, Capewell’s drop put them on the back foot once again.
All this happened when Walker was forced off the pitch with an HIA, Reece Walsh joining the fray.
Walsh seemed to spark something, his power creating space for Cobbo to score from his own deflected grubber. But Walsh’s ball moments later was spilled by his teammates, with Bostock dismissed for touching the ball as Bradman Best ran the length of the pitch.
Jojo Fifita’s try in the corner gave the Maroons hope, but even Walker’s scoring – faultless in the opening two games – began to falter, with two misses (and Walsh’s third) leaving the gap 12 points.
Even when the Maroons thought they had crossed Robert Toia after the Blues let Walker’s bomb land, they were denied as Bunker found Max Plath offside.
It’s a summary of an evening where nothing went right, as Hudson Young walked away as the full-time siren went off, resulting in Queensland’s third consecutive home loss.
While all eyes were on New South Wales heading into the decider, there will be key moments – both inevitable and inevitable – that will leave Queensland wondering what could have been since the campaign launched in May.
The first game seemed to go well until Kalyn Ponga was sent off the field for a shoulder fault that ruined the outcome of the fightand allowed The Blues to fight back from 20-6 down.
Die-hard Maroons fans will say the series should not have needed a third game to decide the shield holders, but Slater’s decision to replace lock Trent Loiero with Gehamat Shibasaki raised questions.
Blues center Kotoni Staggs, who was dropped for Bradman Best in the third match, sparked the Blues’ surge when Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow was moved to the back by Capewell in the back row.
Then there was the concussion that struck Lindsay Collins which caused him to miss the third game. His dramatic efforts on display in Origin 17 were sorely missed.
Even with Pat Carrigan allowed to take his place after five weeks out with a syndesmosis injury, he was not introduced at all – Slater decided to inject Jeremiah Nanai for Capewell after Walsh, Loiero and Plath were available.
“I thought the injection of Jeremiah and Reece really added something. It gave us a little bit of a different look and created opportunities for us,” Slater said.
“But … it doesn’t change the strong feeling you have when you leave two guys on the bench (along with Murray Taulagi), and they don’t get to play.”
Regardless of the decisions made and the mistakes made, this was a case of one team seemingly wanting more, and another failing to meet expectations.
“There’s always a lot of pressure in big games. At the end of the day, you just have to be able to use that pressure,” Munster said.
Slater added: “I wouldn’t say there was a lack of passion, we showed a lot of heart and we didn’t give up.”
“We had our chances, but we made ourselves difficult at times, which probably took the juice out of us.”
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
