State of Origin Game 3 player ratings

Fans witnessed a vintage Billy Slater performance and a gallant effort from James Tedesco in the State of Origin decider.

Billy Slater was one of the chief architects of the victory. Picture: Adam Head

It was supposed to be the end of an era. But Queensland’s dominance does not look like ending soon after their 22-6 win over NSW at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night clinched their 11th series triumph in 12 years.

Below are the player ratings from the Origin decider.

MAROONS

1. BILLY SLATER - Vintage Slater performance with damaging runs, linebreaks and offloads. Fittingly one of the chief architects of a famous victory. 9

2. VALENTINE HOLMES - Hat-trick hero displaying superb athleticism to dive over for the opener before reeling in a ball behind him and beating two players to cross in the second half. 8.5

3. WILL CHAMBERS - All the fireworks erupted on the wing outside of him but a solid game nonetheless. 7

4. MICHAEL MORGAN - Lovely offload helped Holmes to open the scoring. Another cog in a supreme attacking display for the Maroons’ backs. 7.5

5. DANE GAGAI - Capped a sparkling series with another strong game. Looked dangerous whenever he got the ball and racked up more than 150m. 9

6. CAMERON MUNSTER - Outstanding debut. Instrumental in setting up Holmes’s second-half try which changed the momentum of the game, then broke Blues hearts to set up Wallace for the sealer. 9

Has Cooper Cronk ended his Origin career on a dizzying high? Picture: Adam Head

7. COOPER CRONK - Sublime cross-field kick helped Holmes extend the lead to 12 in the second half. Has he ended his glittering Origin career on a dizzying high? 7.5

8. DYLAN NAPA - Impressive debut series showed he can inflict a lot more damage through the middle in Origins to come. 7.5

9. CAMERON SMITH (capt) - Class, courage and captaincy from the front. Another Origin to remember capped slotting three from four shots at goal. 8

10. JARROD WALLACE - Got on the end of some Munster magnificence to score the final points of the night. 7

11. GAVIN COOPER - Likely to be overshadowed by many heroic efforts but a solid display in defence and broke 100 run metres. 7.5

12. MATT GILLETT - Brilliant game in defence with more than 40 tackle. One of the better Queensland forwards. 8

13. JOSH McGUIRE - Great work-rate and made his presence felt with ball in hand. 7.5

INTERCHANGE:

14. BEN HUNT - Not enough time to have a major impact. 6

15. JOSH PAPALII - Had an impact off the bench and had a hand in a try with a classy offload. 7.5

16. COEN HESS - Not a stand-out, but achieving that wasn’t easy in a team performance laden with classy individual efforts. 6

17. TIM GLASBY - Almost strode half the field but his lack of pace denied him a fairytale try. 6

James Tedesco was a shining light among the Blues’ backs. Picture: Getty

BLUES

1. JAMES TEDESCO - Shining light among the Blues’ backs. A gallant effort but lacked support to damage the Maroons. 7

2. BLAKE FERGUSON - Ran aggressively but didn’t get his hands on the football enough. 6

3. JOSH DUGAN - Scored the Blues’ only try with a superb aerial contest. Struggled to have a major impact outside of that and made a couple of rudimentary errors. 6.5

4. JARRYD HAYNE - Went missing in the first half and failed to pass when NSW had a chance to score in the second. Didn’t show enough in defence. 5.5

5. BRETT MORRIS - Brilliant try-saving tackle on Cooper Cronk helped the Blues to be closer than they should have been at halftime. Workmanlike in defence, but limited opportunities in attack. 6.5

6. JAMES MALONEY - Set up Dugan’s try with a high kick but an otherwise quiet night in attack. Made up for missed tackles with a try-saving effort on Tim Glasby as he loped towards the line. 7

Mitchell Pearce couldn’t get control. Picture: Brett Costello

7. MITCHELL PEARCE - Couldn’t get control. Failed to hurt the Maroons with his kicking in a largely forgettable night. 5

8. AARON WOODS - Showed glimpses early but one of the many key Blues’ players who couldn’t fight the Maroons’ tide. 6

9. NATHAN PEATS - Worked hard in defence and hard to fault his distribution. Has shown he is a worthy Origin player. 7

10. ANDREW FIFITA - Failed to have the impact which broke apart game one. 5

11. JOSH JACKSON - Didn’t play a major part with Queensland’s pack on top of the NSW forwards. 5

12. BOYD CORDNER (capt) - Patchy performance. Finished with almost 140 metres but made costly errors. 6.5

13. TYSON FRIZELL - Was good when the momentum swung back to NSW early in the second half, but well held overall. 6

INTERCHANGE: 14. DAVID KLEMMER - Best of the Blues’ big men. Ran for more than 160 metres and had more impact through the middle than starting props Woods and Fifita. 7.5

15. WADE GRAHAM - Gave away a penalty at a crucial time in the second half which led to the Maroons regaining momentum. 5

16. JAKE TRBOJEVIC - Good performance in a losing cause, proving he will be an Origin mainstay in years to come. 7

17. JACK BIRD - Came off the bench and showed glimpses but limited minutes. 6

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