The finale to this year’s State of Origin series was a game of opportunity. Daly Cherry-Evans took his. The Blues butchered so many of theirs. Billy Slater would not let this one pass. The Maroons knew the importance of the moment.
The adjectives could be rattled off ad nauseum to describe the character of an epic contest at Suncorp Stadium forever and a day. It was Herculean and heroic, gutsy and gritty, desperate and defining.
New South Wales won the series but may rue the opportunity to sink the boot into Queensland. It was about more than the chance to sweep the Maroons for the first time since 2000. It was the lost prospect of throwing chaos and self-doubt into the Queensland camp for the next 10 months.
A Blues win would have prompted a narrative surrounding changes the Maroons needed to make and the future of Kevin Walters, with the realisation the golden generation has come and gone. No longer. Queensland will go into the 2019 series settled and sure in their belief that they are close, closer than they are entitled to be after saying goodbye to so many legends of the game over the last two series.
There were legitimate concerns for the Maroons throughout the series as to what their spine would look like going forward. Few anticipated that their dilemma would be solved by the end of the series, albeit a beaten one.
Kalyn Ponga played only a cameo off the bench in the second game but is the Maroons No 1 for the next decade. Cameron Munster was arguably Queensland’s best across the three games. Ben Hunt failed miserably as the primary playmaker and kicking option at halfback but was superb at hooker, adding a lot more in attack than starter Andrew McCullough. And much-maligned Daly Cherry-Evans will, barring injury, start the 2019 series at halfback.
Exiled from the Origin arena for three years, Cherry-Evans did not let the opportunity pass. A shock recall for the third game, the Manly playmaker was instrumental in Queensland’s win and put a space between him and rival No 7 contenders Hunt, Michael Morgan and Ashley Taylor.
Cherry-Evans scored the decisive try but it was his kicking game that was central to Queensland’s stoic victory. The pressure was never relieved. His long kicking game was on-point but it was his ability to force repeat set after repeat set in the first half that ensured the Maroons built an 8-0 lead while fatally damaging New South Wales’ fatigue levels. Queensland forced six repeat sets in the first half, nearly all off the boot of Cherry-Evans, while he very nearly set up the opening try with a deft mid-field chip.
It was an astonishing turnaround for a player who has spent the last three years hearing he had been blackballed by the Maroons, that he was disliked by the playing group and was not playing well enough to even be considered for a recall. He is now the man to take Queensland forward.
Blues coach Brad Fittler will be incredibly proud of the defensive resistance put up by his troops but will be most disappointed in their execution and discipline. The moments that cost the Blues were stark. They overcame a 71%-29% possession deficit, no field position and the sin binning of James Maloney to take a shock 12-8 lead into the break.
The lead was almost the worst thing to happen to the Blues though, who became immediately lax with the ball. Two poor kicks handed Queensland back the ball too easily before a loose Maloney pass in his own half put the Blues on the backfoot. Within three minutes Tariq Sims gave away the most selfish penalty in Origin history when he tackled marker Ben Hunt. The next set Queensland levelled the scores through a Valentine Holmes try.
It went on and on. Angus Crichton butchered a near-certain try when he refused to pass to an unmarked James Roberts. David Klemmer gave away a tripping penalty when the Blues seemed sure to score. Their kicking game was incredibly poor. Maloney threw an intercept.
New South Wales had their chances. They didn’t take them.
The result is the Maroons are still breathing. They will now regroup and be ready to come again at the Blues. New South Wales won the series but Queensland, they know they have dodged a bullet and will take that near-death experience as all the fodder they need for 2019.
