State of Origin 2018 match report: NSW v Queensland at MCG
QUEENSLAND coach Kevin Walters refused to blame officiating calls on the Maroons’ demise, instead criticising his troops’ slack game management without his Big Three.
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QUEENSLAND’s record-breaking dynasty is hanging by a thread after NSW’s posse of rookies showed nerves of steel to stun the Maroons with a 22-12 MCG masterclass in Origin I.
Before 87,122 fans, the Maroons got a gut-wrenching glimpse of life without champion triumvirate Cameron Smith, Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk as new Blues coach Brad Fittler’s faith in 11 debutants paid dividends.
Also missing injured fullback Billy Slater, the Maroons showed their trademark fighting spirit and were on course for one of their great triumphs when Dane Gagai gave his side a 12-8 lead in the 43rd minute.
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But the Blues held their nerve, storming home with a 14-point blitz as Josh Addo-Carr and Latrell Mitchell fired to leave Queensland one defeat away from the official collapse of a famous dynasty.
The Blues will clinch just their second series win in 13 years with victory in the return bout at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium on June 24.
New Maroons skipper Greg Inglis was magnificent, but Queensland were left to lament a midfield mauling that saw props Dylan Napa and Jarrod Wallace blown off the park.
While Blues props Reagan Campbell-Gillard and David Klemmer charged for 232 metres, rivals Napa and Wallace managed just 114 between them, giving NSW the latitude to dictate terms.
The Maroons were gutsy at 12-8, but the match turned on a controversial moment when Gagai was stripped of possession in the 47th minute. No penalty was awarded and within seconds, NSW centre Mitchell crossed before Tom Trbojevic touched down two minutes later to steal an 18-12 lead.
Blues pivot James Maloney then broke Queensland’s hearts, throwing a questionable pass for Addo-Carr to deliver the coup de grace 10 minutes from full-time.
Queensland coach Kevin Walters refused to blame officiating calls on the Maroons’ demise, instead criticising his troops’ slack game management without his Big Three.
“We didn’t play smart enough,” Walters said.
“Our effort was what you expect from a Queensland team but we just couldn’t get it right with our smarts.
“A few little things we wanted to do in the game with our attack, we didn’t execute right.
“We didn’t quite rise up to where we needed to be.”
Blues fullback James Tedesco carved up the Maroons, producing 221 metres and 12 tackle busts, while NSW’s forwards emphatically won the middle third.
“There was talk about Reagan Campbell-Gillard’s comments before the game, but he stood up,” NSW coach Brad Fittler said.
“I always felt we could win that game. It was a team picked on character.”
After a tumultuous build-up marred by Slater’s withdrawal and Gagai’s captain’s run injury mishap, the Maroons were entitled to start nervously in pursuit of their 12th crown in 13 years.
The first 20 minutes was quintessential Origin: a midfield fight for metres tinged with nervy execution. But it was 10-minute window midway through the first half that saw the Maroons lose ruck control.
Speedy Blues hooker Damien Cook was always going to be a dummy-half danger man and it was his first major incursion which unlocked the Maroons.
After a James Maloney penalty goal in the 18th minute gave the Blues a 2-0 lead, Cook struck. The Blues rake shot out of dummy half, ghosted past Felise Kaufusi and Ben Hunt and released Maloney, whose inside ball sent James Tedesco streaking away for an 8-0 break after 22 minutes.
Suddenly, there was a slight, almost imperceptible shift, in mentality. The Maroons looked disjointed and defensively cumbersome. The Blues looked slick, confident and in the mood to attack.
Then a split-second Blues brain explosion gave the Maroons a shot of adrenaline.
Maloney, attacking the Maroons line in the 25th minute, threw a cut-out ball and watched in horror as Maroons winger Valentine Holmes swooped, streaking 85 metres to whittle the deficit to 8-6.
Statistically, the Maroons had no right to be within striking distance. In the first 25 minutes, they completed at 73 per cent and missed 22 tackles to six. But Walters’ troops, playing with the heart of Phar Lap, simply hung tough. It is the Queensland way.
If there was a poster boy that crystallised their streetfighter attitude, it was giant centre Inglis. In his Queensland captaincy debut, Inglis, equalling Wally Lewis with his 31st Origin match, produced the ultimate skipper’s knock.
“He was our best player,” Walters said.
For all their heart, the Maroons were ultimately left to rue their lack of defensive polish and midfield dominance. They missed twice as many tackles as NSW (42 to 18), while just two Maroons forwards, Josh McGuire (122) and Felise Kaufusi (103), amassed more than 100 metres.
On match eve, Queensland coach Kevin Walters warned Origin games are won in the middle. His big boppers failed him. They need to right the wrongs in Game Two.
NEW SOUTH WALES 22 (J Addo-Carr L Mitchell J Tedesco T Trbojevic tries J Maloney 3 goals) bt QUEENSLAND 12 (D Gagai V Holmes tries V Holmes 2 goals) at Melbourne Cricket Ground. Referee: Gerard Sutton, Ashley Klein. Crowd: 87,122. Game 1: NSW 22 bt QLD 12 Series: NSW lead QLD 1-0.
Originally published as State of Origin 2018 match report: NSW v Queensland at MCG