Origin II: Maroons thump Blues 26-6 at Suncorp Stadium to set up series decider

QUEENSLAND has kept alive hopes of an eighth-straight State of Origin series win with a dominant 26-6 victory over NSW at Suncorp Stadium.

QUEENSLAND, we have a decider.

The proud dynasty Mal Meninga built is refusing to crumble after Johnathan Thurston last night inspired a Queensland resurrection with a 26-6 demolition of the Blues at Suncorp Stadium.

On a night of more spite, Thurston quickly rebounded from a severe stomach bug, producing a masterclass amid the punches to floor the Blues and keep the series alive.

The crushing performance sets-up a death-or-glory decider in Game Three at Sydney's ANZ Stadium on July 17 with the Maroons just 80 minutes away from an eighth consecutive Origin crown.

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Just 24 hours before kick-off, the champion pivot was secretly admitted to hospital after suffering a recurrence of the ill-health that marred his forgettable performance in Queensland's 14-6 loss in Game One.

But Thurston ultimately consigned NSW to the casualty ward after he and scrumbase partner Cooper Cronk orchestrated a furious opening which catapulted Queensland to a 14-0 lead inside 18 minutes.

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Thurston played down his effort, but his teammates lauded the little general's determination to recover from being in "pretty bad shape" to lead the Maroons to victory.

Thurston suffered stomach cramps so severe it was thought he may have appendicitis and was rushed to hospital where he stayed overnight on a drip after becoming dehydrated.

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"I had really bad stomach cramps and was vomiting and had diarrhea, I was in pretty bad shape but I recovered pretty well from it," Thurston said.

"When I woke up this morning, I felt heaps better and I kept getting better as the day went on and I was back to fully fit come game time."

Meninga lauded Thurston's courage.

"He was on a hydration drip, we did an MRI scan to see if it was something more sinister," Meninga said.

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"He came out of hospital (yesterday) morning and wanted to play ... it was a fantastic effort."

The Maroons' hatchet job was tainted by a 54th minute all-in brawl which saw four players - Blues duo Trent Merrin and Greg Bird and Queensland pair Justin Hodges and Brent Tate - sin-binned.

Amid the carnage, Thurston delivered the class. He threw the final pass for Darius Boyd's two tries in the 18th and 48th minutes before Cronk produced the cross-kick for Greg Inglis' 55th minute four-pointer which buried the Blues.

Maroons skipper Cameron Smith was named man-of-the-match, but Thurston executed pressure plays at clutch moments in front of a crowd of 51,690.

Meninga hoped the post-match outrage over the mass sin-binnings would not take the gloss off Queensland's emphatic fightback.

"It was fantastic," he said.

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"I could sense it all week, our training was crisp, but we got it right and the effort was extraordinary. We didn't let up. It was a ruthless performance.

Smith urged NRL hierarchy to reassess their crackdown on punching.

"You can't play a proper game of footy when you have 11 on 11," he said.

"Origin is not about that, it's about 13 blokes on the field ... maybe we need to sit back and take a deep breath."

NSW skipper Gallen conceded the Blues were blown off the park.

"They started 100 miles an hour. We knew they would," he said.

"They were too fast for us."

Billy Slater

with Emma Greenwood

QUEENSLAND 26 (D Boyd 2 G Inglis S Thaiday tries J Thurston 5 goals) bt NEW SOUTH WALES 6 (B Morris try J Maloney goal) at Suncorp Stadium. Referee: Shayne Hayne, Ashley Klein. Crowd:  51,690.

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Sam Thaiday

Darius Boyd