A new-look NSW side has fired the first shot in the 2018 State of Origin series, fighting back to brilliantly beat Queensland 22-12 in Melbourne.
With a new coach in Brad Fittler and fielding a history-making 11 Origin rookies, it was hard to know how this Blues team would shape up at the MCG in front of nearly 90,000 people. Would they handle the step up? Would the pressure be a problem? Hardly. This young NSW pulled off a remarkable performance to defeat the Maroons. They took the lead early, weathered a Maroons comeback and then finished strongly to edge 1-0 in front in the three-game series.
David Klemmer hit the ball up from the kick off in a big collision. The heavy tackles flowed throughout the 80 minutes, with new captain Greg Inglis in particular making his presence felt. It was a brutal opening to a brutal game, with the first penalty going to Queensland in the third minute. The first chance went to the Maroons, but James Tedesco managed to clean up their grubber kick.
Queensland were dominating possession and yardage, but a penalty to NSW relieved some pressure off them. The Blues put up a high bomb from James Maloney, but Michael Morgan took it brilliantly. NSW started to come back into the match, with Tedesco making a half-break. In the 11th minute the Blues forced a goal-line drop-out and tried to turn the screws. Three minutes later they forced another. But the Maroons’ defence was strong and intense.
In the 16th minute Queensland were penalizing for lying around the ruck, so NSW took a 2-0 lead from a Maloney penalty. The Maroons had a good chance to hit back four minutes later, but Will Chambers’ spilled Felise Kaufusi’s pass. The Blues made them pay straight after when Damian Cook scooted from dummy half. He popped a lovely offload to Maloney, who found Tedesco in support to score. Maloney converted and the Blues were up 8-0.
It was all-NSW until a Valentine Holmes interception snapped the momentum. Holmes brilliantly read Maloney’s pass and ran 85 metres to put Queensland back in it. The winger converted his own try and the Blues’ lead was cut to just two points.
In the 33rd minute a terrific kick from Chambers forced a goal-line drop-out. In the next set Andrew McCullough was held up over the line. Jai Arrow then tried to crash over, but NSW held him up too. The first half finished with the Maroons on the attack and the Blues sternly keeping them out. At the break the match was delicately poised at 8-6.
The first-half stats showed that Queensland were fortunate to be only two points behind. They missed a whopping 31 tackles in the first 40 minutes, compared to 16 from NSW, made no line breaks and had to make 228 tackles to the Blues’ 178.
But that didn’t matter two minutes into the second half, as the Maroons snatched the lead. A perfect grubber from Ben Hunt was grounded by Dane Gagai. Holmes added the extras from the sideline to make it 12-8 to Queensland.
In the 46th minute NSW had excellent position after Gagai lost the ball near his own try-line. The Blues didn’t waste it – shifting the ball to left where Tedesco found Latrell Mitchell and the bullish centre brushed past three defenders to cross. It was a terrific try that tied it up at 12-12. Maloney couldn’t convert the try, so it remained all-square.
NSW went in for the kill and scored in the next few minutes thanks to Tom Trbojevic. On debut, the rookie winger soared high to grab a bomb off Holmes and get the ball down. The match had been flipped on its head again and the Blues went 18-12 in front.
Queensland surged back for another score, but NSW’s defence was unrelenting. In the 61st minute a Hunt bomb ensured a drop-out and a repeat set. But a stray offload from Cameron Munster gave the Blues the ball back. The Maroons kept plugging away, but then NSW hauled Gavin Cooper into touch. The Blues’ 11 debutants were standing up to be well and truly counted.
Then they killed the game off. In the 69th minute Tedesco burst through the middle, stepping defenders left and right. He spread it to the left, Maloney finding Josh Addo-Carr and the winger beat his man to finish perfectly in the corner. Maloney couldn’t convert, but NSW had a crucial 10-point lead.
With six minutes left Hunt gave Queensland hope with a 40-20 kick. But the Maroons couldn’t force another set and NSW marched them back up the field. The Blues sensed another try was there for the taking and Mitchell barged through. Somehow Queensland managed to keep the ball millimetres from the ground and the video referee ruled no try.
It mattered little as the clock was on NSW’s side. With less than two minutes Addo-Carr dived over in the corner, but he also couldn’t get the ball down. All Queensland could do was limit the damage on the scoreline as the seconds ticked away.
The Blues had drawn first blood in a new Origin era. The night belonged to the 11 debutants and their rookie coach Fittler. Playing with no fear, a re-energised NSW showed if you’re good enough, you’re old enough for State of Origin.
