All eyes now turn to Sydney and the Game 3 decider on Wednesday 9th of July. I will be back there to see who lifts the State of Origin shield. Until then, I’ll leave you with Jack Snape’s match report from tonight’s chaotic classic. Catch you soon.
A quick look at social media and it appears NSW fans have some polite concerns with the refereeing of Ashley Klein. Obviously when a penalty count ends so one-sided it’s easy to leap to that kind of conclusion, but the focus should be on the Blues’ poor discipline, especially during that last half hour of the first half.
Individually, Brian To’o must be unable to believe he was on the losing side, scoring a hat-trick and running for over 200 metres. The only Queenslanders to pass 100 were Cameron Munster and Kurt Capewell, the former leading from the front as captain, the latter making a superb return to the Origin scene after his surprise recall. The Warrior lock was present in much of what Queensland got right in both attack and defence, adding some much needed steel.
Another newcomer, Kurt Mann, acquitted himself well. Tom Dearden looked at home at this level in the opening half, but seemed to become swallowed up by the occasion in the second as Munster and Kalyn Ponga showed their authority.
Payne Haas was immense again for the Blues, and Hudson Young caught the eye off the bench, but both were guilty of crucial errors in a defeat ultimately defined more by what NSW did wrong than Queensland did right.
Despite the lopsided stats sheet at half-time indicating Queensland’s ascendancy, almost all the key markers ended in NSW’s favour after 80 minutes. Other than the scoreboard, the numbers that counted the most were arguably in the penalty count, which Queensland dominated 10-2. One of those infringements allowed Holmes to kick what proved to be the winning goal. 30 minutes or so of poor discipline from the Blues in the first half, and it cost them the game, despite a four try to nil second half.
NSW ended up outscoring Queensland five tries to four, but Val Holmes out-kicked Zac Lomax 5/5 to 2/5 and that proved the difference.
“It was everything you could imagine,” pants a breathless Cameron Munster, who is named player of the match on his debut as Queensland captain. “We had a really good first half. Second half, just shot ourselves in the foot. Can’t afford to give a team like that so much ball. But we had that mentality like the ‘95 nobodies team and just kept working and turning up for each other. And we ended up getting the chocolates. But in game three, we need to be a lot better in certain positions. We can’t afford to give them piggybacks.
“It’s just it’s just a pleasure playing with these boys. Like, I know we didn’t deliver in Game One, but I felt like our preparation was really good, and we built it on that in Game Two. I love playing with this group. There was a never say die attitude tonight. Our back was against the wall and that’s what we love. Queenslanders love being underdogs and we still are.”
Extraordinary. How did the Maroons hold on?
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Full-time: Queensland 26-24 NSW
Queensland somehow win a chaotic, thrilling, State of Origin classic. The series is alive heading to Sydney.
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79 mins: Queensland take no risks whatsoever, grinding out of their red zone. NSW will have 30 seconds to win the match from just inside their own half… no they won’t! Munster crunches Edwards running the ball back, it spills free and the Maroons win a classic!
78 mins: NSW go to the left to To’o but the hat-trick man is haiuled in inches from the left corner. The Blues come back inside but Haas knocks-on in contact! Munster and Capewell to the rescue.
77 mins: Capewell with a huge tackle on Leniu. Then Loiero on Haas. NSW go to the backs and Dearden wraps up Mitchell on the left then Munster mops up Cleary. Luai with a massive bomb on the last tackle – can Ponga defuse it? NO! The fullback knocks on 10m out. Queensland challenge the decision – they think the ball goes backwards off Ponga. The TMO takes plenty of time over the call – unsuccessful! The TV experts all thought the ball went backwards but the man who matters most did not agree. Three minutes to go, NSW 10m from a staggering comeback.
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76 mins: Excellent defensive set from the Maroons, until tackle four, when the Blues go wide to the right and Coates knocks on executing a tackle on Lomax. NSW get a scrum on their own 30m line.
74 mins: Leniu, Crichton, Martin, Yeo, the big Blues get to work but Cleary still has to kick from his own 40m line. Can Queensland complete a set? Just! Holmes almost loses in contact but Munster is able to bomb from halfway and Edwards is tackle inside his 10m line.
73 mins: This is an all-time comeback from NSW. And an all-time implosion from Queensland.
CONVERTED TRY! Queensland 26-24 NSW (Crichton, 72 mins)
Mitchell stripped Nanai 1-1 after a gang tackle fell away. Two tackles later Luai spots a gap in behind, drops the ball onto his left boot, watches it bobble towards the in-goal area with only one chaser: Angus Crichton! He finishes the job, leaps in jubilation, Lomax kicks the extras, and we have a two-point game.
Wow.
71 mins: Mitchell with the strip! Queensland cannot clear their lines and the Blues are back on the attack! This is extraordinary.
70 mins: A Crichton, Haas, Young, big blue bodies take contact. Ruck infringement set restart. Ponga throwing a hand to intercept but knocking on, six more! Cleary tries to snipe under the posts, surely there’s another score here. It feels inevitable, but Watson goes right – twice – despite Cleary and Luai standing on the left! There’s no room on the right and eventually Toia forces Lomax into touch.
69 mins: The Blues grind to halfway. Cleary kicks long to Coates. Two tackles later Toia coughs up under contact and NSW are on the attack again! Queensland are disintegrating in the WA rain.
67 mins: Capewell! The Warrior has been immense tonight and he jams the ball out of Young’s control with a massive hit 30m from the NSW line. The Maroons get some respite and go through their tackles, but look terrified to actually do anything with their possession and on the last Dearden is pinged for a forward pass.
65 mins: What a second-half comeback this has been from NSW. Queensland have forgotten how to win.
TRY! Queensland 26-18 NSW (To'o, 65)
From the scrum on halfway the Blues mount an attack. Queensland concede a set restart as Young, Haas, and Watson hit the line. 10m out, bang in front, quick ball, you know what happens next. Cleary, to Luai, to Mitchell, to To’o, liquid rugby league! When the Blues go through hands they are a tidal wave bursting a levee. So so good to watch. That mistake from Tabuai-Fidow… wow!
Lomax misses again from the touchline! Goal kicking is starting to cost the Blues in Perth.
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62 mins: Queensland will be happy with a few minutes of midfield arm-wrestling, but the belief seems to be ebbing away as NSW smell blood. S Crichton again causes havoc in the right channel but a desperate tackle keeps him at bay. The Maroons are keeping things simple, running one-out until Ponga busts a tackle and pulls the release valve. Toia kicks neatly on the last tackle and Queensland almost drag Edwards in-goal. NSW can only make 20m with their clearing set – is this the turnaround the Maroons were searching for? No! The long clearing kick is straight to Tabuai-Fidow – and he knocks on! Awful error from the double try-scorer.
60 mins: NSW are motoring now! Two tries since the break, all the territory, and now Haas almost breaks the defensive line from the restart.
TRY! Queensland 26-14 NSW (S Crichton, 58)
Young again sets up the drive with a powerful hit-up. Then from under the bar Penrith get busy. Cleary, to Luai, to Edwards, to Crichton, there’s an irresistibility to the tempo of the move, a pure rugby league snake arcing its way towards the right corner; then Crichton straightens, brushes off a limp Holmes tackle, and takes Coates over the try line with him!
Lomax hits the post with his touchline conversion attempt!
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58 mins: Young has been lively since came on, Yeo is busy, and A Crichton has his nostrils flared, but Queensland stand their ground until Munster marks Cleary’s lob on the last and gets dragged in-goal. The short dropout returns NSW to possession.
57 mins: For the first time tonight both teams trade sets either side of halfway, then Young is marginally high on Munster and Queensland are awarded yet another penalty! NSW challenge – not the high tackle – but earlier in the passage Lomax winning an aerial contest ahead of Coates and being tackled mid-air. The TMO agrees! Massive bonus for the Blues and they can get to work 20m out.
55 mins: Haas with a powerful carry takes NSW over halfway. Cleary kicks dangerously to the left corner, drawing Tabuai-Fidow forward – but he holds magnificently under intense aerial pressure. Nanai does a brilliant job running out of defence, then Capewell shows his versatility on the left edge, before Munster kicks poorly again on the last.
53 mins: Queensland get back to work, one-out hit-ups from 15m out. Excellent defence from NSW for five tackles, denying Queensland any space, and shutting down Ponga as he threatened to dart to the left corner. Then Munster overhits his grubber horribly for the second time tonight to let the Blues off the hook. This is compelling sport, but far from perfectly executed.
52 mins: Queensland attack down the left with Munster busy. Then Dearden straightens up, uses Tino, then the ball comes free! Backwards – play on! Cotter collects the loose ball and almost scrambles over for a try. Robson is in the right place at the right time but Queensland have a full set in touching distance of the line. Then Klein’s whistle blows yet again for another NSW infringement, this time at the ruck. The first significant delay of the night follows as Robson is patched up.
51 mins: NSW’s kicking woes continue. Cleary, under pressure near halfway on the last tackle, kicks for an off-cutter but doesn’t connect perfectly and the ball lands on the right touchline on the full., Queensland have the break they needed after a strong start to the half from the Blues.
50 mins: The Maroons take no chances, one-out running to halfway, then chasing ferociously to dump Lomax as soon as he marks Munster’s long kick. This is no frills intense rugby league.
48 mins: Utoikamanu is absolutely crunched on the restart hit-up but Young and Leniu again make excellent carries before Robson snipes over halfway from dummy-half. Cleary lofts a kick to the right corner and the Blues are back in motion.
TRY! Queensland 26-10 NSW (To'o, 46)
Textbook rugby league from NSW! Young takes three tacklers with him to the posts allowing the Blues chance to run their preferred patterns from the ruck. Cleary takes the ball to the line, ignores his decoy forwards to go to Luai. Then it’s catch and pass with Mitchell, into the hands of To’o, and the Panther is over in the corner. Clinical, especially in these conditions.
Lomax is agonisingly wide with his touchline conversion.
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44 mins: The conditions are now absolutely atrocious. The rain is teeming down, the ground is heavy, and neither team trusts the Steeden. Capewell is the latest to carry loosely and the Blues retake possession on halfway. Cleary reads the conditions and kicks on tackle four from 20m out, Coates has no option but to concede the line drop-out. Munster takes it, but it’s forward off Tabuai-Fidow and NSW have a set 15m out.
42 mins: Visibility is practically nil at Optus Stadium as the smoke from the half-time pyrotechnics lingers in the blanket rain. Queensland take no risks with the restart set and kick long to Edwards. The Blues look good with the ball, Young and Leniu in particular, before Cleary kicks on the last… and Luai is offside. The penalty count climbs to 9-0! That was another costly one because Lomax’s contest had forced Ponga into knocking-on.
41 mins: The biggest margin NSW have overcome to win an Origin encounter is just six points. They will have perform a miracle if they are to leave Perth with the shield.
Some half-time stats to help try and make sense of the chaos.
10/17: NSW’s completion rate is just 58%! The Blues have not looked comfortable at all in these wet conditions, an insecurity compounded by a much more ferocious defensive performance from Queensland.
Line breaks 3-0 Queensland / Tackle breaks 22-4 Queensland: This reflects both how poor NSW have been with ball in hand, but also the impact of the rejuvenated Queensland pack.
Penalties 8-0 Queensland: “Discipline needs to improve,” laments a downbeat Laurie Daley as the players run out for the second half.
Half-time: Queensland 26-6 NSW
Incredible, chaotic, error-strewn half of rugby league, and it has given Queensland a lifeline to remain in this series.
40 mins: Good grief, what on earth is going on out there!? Queensland kick on the last, it lands around 25m out but it’s uncontested. The Maroons then try to keep the ball alive like it’s the dying seconds of a rugby sevens match, going backwards all the time with a series of flick passes and tap-ons. It is kamikaze rugby league – and eventually Capewell knocks on! NSW have one attack before the break: Lomax tries a two-point field goal but it drifts wide.
39 mins: This is not at all what I expected to be watching tonight. NSW are a shadow of the team we saw in Game 1.
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CONVERTED TRY! Queensland 26-6 NSW (Capewell, 38)
The penalty count is now 8-0 Queensland! From the latest on halfway Munster taps and goes and the NSW defence is on the back foot for four tackles as the Maroons eat up the Optus Stadium turf. Grant is feasting on quick ball and it comes as no surprise when he finds Dearden on his left, who takes on the line, offloads to Mann, who somehow gets a pass away to Capewell who finds an agle off the left to crash over the line.
Holmes makes it 5/5 with the minimum of fuss.
36 mins: … and Cleary takes a step off his right, inside one, inside two, the gap opens up and he runs under the posts! That was so so easy. Too easy as it happens, because Utoikamanu had failed to get back onside after running the decoy, his presence was what allowed Cleary such an armchair ride. Let-off for Queensland.
34 mins: Massive restart collision between Collins and Leniu, but the big Queenslander holds his ground. That hit energises the Blues who put in their toughest defensive effort for some time. Lomax runs his side over halfway, then earns an offside set restart. NSW are scared to do anything with the slippery ball until tackle five when they spread to the right and we’re treated to an amazing tip-on from Crichton. On the last Cleary chips possibly the worst kick of his career, it almost goes backwards. A Crichton rescues it and somehow finds To’o with the offload. He kicks ahead, the ball ricochets off Tabuai-Fidow and the officials adjudge the Dolphin played at the ball so possession returns to NSW 10m out.
CONVERTED TRY! Queensland 20-6 NSW (Munster, 31)
Off the back of the kick Queensland enjoy a couple of strong hit-ups from Mann and Carrigan, then the Melbourne Storm spine gets to work. Grant is sharp from dummy-half, spotting some space to zip into, he draws the line to the left opening a pocket to his right for Munster to burst into and haul himself over the line! Excellent sleight of hand try from the Maroons just to the right of the posts.
Holmes makes it 4/4 from point-blank. Queensland are in dreamland!
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30 mins: Collins, Mann, and Carrigan are all on the field for Queensland now with Loiero undergoing an HIA following that clash with Lomax. Another decision goes their way with a Cotter loose carry quickly saved by an inside-10m offside call. Dearden kicks to attacking territory.
GOAL! Queensland 14-6 NSW (Holmes, 29)
30m out, bang in front, Holmes makes it 3/3 and the Maroons extend their lead to eight points. After that poor start Queensland have been the better side for the past 20 minutes.
28 mins: This is chaotic. NSW drive unconvincingly downfield then kick on the last for Lomax to bat back 30m out. Then Luai jabs another kick forward – this is like AFL! Queensland realise these conditions are not conducive to ball handling so Munster kicks on tackle three and almost secures a 40-20. Edwards runs it safely infield, then Lomax has a go, but after he’s tackled the Eel swings an elbow back into the face of Loiero and concedes a kickable penalty!
26 mins: Almost! Carrigan is again important leading his side downfield. Munster kicks dangerously on the last, high to the left corner. Coates wins the leap, pats the ball backwards, and in broken field the Maroons have an overlap on the right if they can find it… they can’t! Toia grasses a difficult pass as the chaos overcomes him. That was almost a third try of the half.
24 mins: A couple of carries from the sub Carrigan helps Queensland beyond halfway. Dearden shows and goes, then Coates kicks neatly to force Edwards to smother the ball just in front of his own line. This is better from the Maroons. NSW grind out of their red zone then kick miles to establish territorial parity.
22 mins: Now Haas knocks on! To be fair, the pass from Cleary was just behind the big prop, but it continues NSW’s ragged spell. To compound matters Luai is placed on report for getting involved with a Queenslander on the ground.
There are spot-fires threatening to burst into the open all over the place. Ponga and Luai have a stand off. Martin has been fired up. Now Crichton clotheslines Toia and Dearden can kick to halfway.
21 mins: Fotuaika spills the first carry of the restart! NSW have a set 20m out.
CONVERTED TRY! Queensland 12-6 NSW (Tabuai-Fidow, 20)
The Hammer has two! After all the midfield chaos Queensland finally mount an attack. Capewell is imposing setting up field position for a kick, which is executed superbly by Dearden. Tabuai-Fidow gets a run and a jump on the smaller To’o, plucks the ball out of the sky, lands safely, wriggles the right way up and touches down for four more points.
Holmes makes it two superb touchline conversions in a row!
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18 mins: Liam Martin! BOSH! The Blues don’t dwell on their misfortune as the Panther executes a magnificent tackle up and into the ribcage of Tino, dislodging the ball and earning 12 backslaps, and the right to mouth off at his Queensland foes.
Valentime Holmes! BOSH! Martin quickly gets a taste of his own medicine, crunched by Holmes and the ball spills free again! This is pinball in wet conditions in Perth.
16 mins: Billy Slater, Darren Lockyer, Cameron Smith, all praising Queensland for their patience in that try-scoring attack. It was notable how Munster, Grant, and especially Dearden were composed constructing their assault on the NSW line. The Maroons get through their restart set safely with Tino and Fotuaika both running strongly. Grant then kicks crossfield to touch with the ball skidding a logn way on the greasy surface. Two tackles into their response NSW cough up possession! The ball went through Edwards’ butter-fingers and hauled in on the deck by A Crichton.
GOAL! Queensland 6-6 NSW (Holmes, 14)
Superb touchline conversion from the right by Holmes to bring the scores level.
TRY! Queensland 4-6 NSW (Tabuai-Fidow, 12)
Tino and Cotter make decent inroads into the NSW half. Munster and Dearden link well. Then there’s a ruck penalty and Queensland have a full set 10m out. Fotuaika has a hit up, Munster tries to dance through, and he buys another six-again. The ball heads to the left through Ponga but Holmes is held up. Now the Maroons go to the right through Grant – and there’s another six-again! Capewell draws in defenders on the left edge. Munster almost feeds Tino under the crossbar. How are the Blues holding their line? Answer: they’re not! Dearden does well taking the ball to the line, feinting to pass to Cotter. Instead he picks out Toia who times his assist to Tabuai-Fidow to perfection and the Origin specialist dives over in the corner!
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10 mins: NSW only reach their own 40m line with the restart set, thanks in part to a big Capewell hit on Haas. The big Bronco then concedes a needless penalty for laying on the ball-carrier too long on the ground after a tackle of his own.
9 mins: This is exactly what Queensland could not afford. Errors in attack, indiscipline in defence, and now an early try.
CONVERTED TRY! Queensland 0-6 NSW (To'o, 8)
Martin takes the first tackle inside 10 metres, then the old firm get to work in the halves. Cleary drifts from the centre to the left, teasing the line like a fish nibbling a lure, before offloading to Luai, who dabs a kick through for a three vs two chase. Angus Crichton wins it, stabbing another kick to his left for To’o to pounce on and score the opening points of the night.
Lomax curls over a superb touchline conversion from the left.
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6 mins: NSW think they have a turnover on Tino on tackle four as the Maroons try to run out of defence. The on-field ruling is a strip against Cleary, but the Blues immediately challenge the decision and the TMO wastes little time finding in their favour. Another early error for Queensland.
4 mins: It’s Origin 1 all over again. NSW’s pack pounds to the attacking 30 without breaking stride. Cleary bombs under the posts, Lomax chases hard, Ponga spills in the air. A full set 10 metres out almost leads to a try to To’o in the left corner but he’s hauled in. Martin then almost crashes through the middle but he’s stalled by his nemesis Munster – who then can’t resist a nibble after contact and concedes a six-again on tackle five!
NSW go again from under the crossbar. Yeo has a shunt. Where is the space? The Blues try the right, and there’s an overlap – but Crichton spills a hot ball under pressure from Coates jamming in from the touchline.
Queensland survive!
3 mins: Dearden, Grant, and Munster are all busy for Queensland inside the NSW half. Holmes cuts in dangerously from the left, but then on the last it’s another poor kick, this time an overhit grubber from the new captain, and the Blues get seven tackles to clear their lines.
2 mins: All the Blues forwards get a touch during the first set but Queensland defend solidly. Luai surprisingly takes the kick on the last… and he shanks it into touch on the left on the full! Massive early opportunity for the Maroons.
Kick-off!
Origin 2 is under way…
Formalities taken care of, kick-off is imminent. All or nothing for Queensland. Valentine Holmes’s boot will get things rolling.
Out march the Blues onto Optus Stadium, behind their captain Iasaah Yeo. They’re wearing sky blue jerseys and navy shorts.
Now here come the Maroons, led out for the first time by new skipper Cameron Munster. Queensland are top to toe in burgundy.
Judging by the noise of the crowd I’d guess Perth is leaning towards Queensland tonight.
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Tonight’s referee is the experienced Ashley Klein.
It is tipping it down in Perth! There has already been some rain today so conditions underfoot will be slippery. Fortunately there’s little wind to speak of.
The coaches have said their final pieces. “We want to get on early in the game,” Slater said. “They’ve worked on a few things throughout the week and it’s been a great preparation, so getting those actions into our game early and then sustaining them for 80 minutes.”
Laurie Daley: “It’s the greatest contest we have, isn’t it, State of Origin. It’s the test of your will and desire and your ability to compete and go to places where you’ve probably never been before. But you’ve got to fight your way out of that, and you’ve got to continue to fight till the end… The way that we’ve prepared, we’ve really built on what we achieved in Game One… We’ve got to front load our energy. We’ve got to be ready to go. And that’s what we’ve spoken about.”
Munster has his first win as Queensland skipper! It’s only the coin toss, but still. The Maroons will kick-off.
The first time the teams played at Optus Stadium the Blues won 38-6 in 2019. The last time, the Blues won 44-12 to level the 2022 series. Home from home.
What does Cameron Munster make of captaining Queensland? “It’s everything. As a kid you always wanted to play for Queensland and I never thought I’d have the opportunity to captain this beautiful team and this beautiful state. So to be able to do that tonight, I’m very proud. I can’t wait to lead them out.” Beautiful.
Nathan Cleary has matter-of-factly explained what NSW are planning to do tonight: “Obviously the kicking game is a big part of it, but just being in the game, aggression in defence, running the ball in attack.”
When you have a squad as strong as the Blues there’s no need to overcomplicate things.
NSW XVII
Necessary changes only from Laurie Daley, namely replacing the injured pair of Mitchell Moses and Mitch Barrett. Jarome Luai’s recall at five-eighth was an easy decision, while Stefano Utoikamanu adds his power to the interchange.
1. Dylan Edwards, 2. Brian To’o, 3. Stephen Crichton, 4. Latrell Mitchell, 5. Zac Lomax , 6. Jarome Luai, 7. Nathan Cleary, 8. Max King, 9. Reece Robson, 10. Payne Haas, 11. Liam Martin, 12. Angus Crichton , 13. Isaah Yeo. Interchange: 14. Connor Watson , 15. Spencer Leniu, 16. Hudson Young, 17. Stefano Utoikamanu.
Queensland XVII
Billy Slater has taken the monumental decision to drop his captain and halfback Daly Cherry-Evans, after one match of the series, and bring in Tom Dearden at first receiver. Up front Kurt Capewell returns to the Origin fold, while Trent Loiero gets his first start. Kurt Mann will debut from an interchange packed full of experience.
1. Kalyn Ponga, 2. Xavier Coates, 3. Robert Toia, 4. Valentine Holmes, 5. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, 6. Cameron Munster ©, 7. Tom Dearden, 8. Moeaki Fotuaika, 9. Harry Grant, 10. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, 11. Reuben Cotter, 12. Kurt Capewell, 13. Trent Loiero. Interchange: 14. Kurt Mann, 15. Lindsay Collins, 16. Jeremiah Nanai, 17. Patrick Carrigan.
TALE OF THE TAPE 🎞
— NRL (@NRL) June 17, 2025
Which side is coming out on top in Origin II? pic.twitter.com/YWNBUtqMN6
For what it’s worth, I don’t think the Maroons have been bold enough, especially with how the extended squad converts into the nominated XVII.
Put simply, if these two groups play out a typical match of NRL quality rugby league I don’t see how NSW don’t win every time. The Blues pack is a couple of weight divisions more powerful, Nathan Cleary is the halfback of his generation, Stephen Crichton is the premium defensive organiser in the game, Zac Lomax is an aerial weapon, Dylan Edwards is indefatigable, the interchange is deep, and if everything is too predictable they can always toss the ball to the sport’s greatest maverick, Latrell Mitchell.
For Queensland to win conventionally, they must perform at their very best, and NSW must slip off considerably in most areas. As a result, I would advocate the throwing of convention out of the window.
Maybe the Maroons could have turned tonight’s clash into a dogfight, especially taking into account the rain? Bring Corey Horsburgh into the starting pack, call up a scrapper like Jai Arrow, and add a chaos agent to the bench like Reed Mahoney or Felise Kaufusi to create a contest full of disruption and spot fires to deny the Blues flow. Are Kurt Capewell and Trent Loiero realistically likely to outperform Payne Haas, Liam Martin, Angus Crichton, and Isaah Yeo? It feels like Slater and his selection panel are pissing into the wind.
Behind the underpowered forwards Slater has gone all-in on Tom Dearden; an excellent footballer, but is he the kind to play lights-out footy and win a match off his own boot? I can’t see it. Queensland need to tear up the script, not try and rewrite it. They could take a punt on the instinctive qualities of Ezra Mam, Jye Gray or Jayden Campbell, or look at Jamal Fogarty or Braydon Trindall as kicking specialists to overcoming the likely territorial deficit. If that sounds like a lot of fullbacks and halves, then get creative with shirt numbers. Harry Grant was well below par in Brisbane, and Valentine Holmes increasingly seems like a legacy selection, not one based on impact, especially if he’s anything other than 100% off the tee.
Throw caution to the wind while the series remains alive rather than experiment in a dead rubber in July.
When the squads for Origin 2 landed they contained the bombshell that Slater had dropped his captain from the opening round, Daly Cherry-Evans, preferring Tom Dearden at scrum-half.
The call to leave Cherry-Evans remains one of the most seismic in recent memory from either state. He has been the Maroons’ first-choice No 7 and captain since 2019, taking Queensland to three series wins, including their incredible 2020 effort.
Jack Snape sets the scene ahead of a defining Origin clash for Billy Slater.
So it’s concern for camp Queensland, and confidence among the Blues: the State of Origin status quo. Apart from the period of the Maroons’ dominance in the 2000s and 2010s, the Queenslanders have spent much of the Origin era as outsiders. They may be preparing for this crucial clash in AFL-loving Western Australia, but spiritually the Maroons are in their natural habitat.
Preamble
Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of State of Origin Game 2. Kick-off between Queensland and New South Wales at Optus Stadium is scheduled for 8:05pm AEST (6.05pm AWST).
After selling the peerless quality of Origin footy in the preamble to game one I had the rug pulled from under me during a tepid 80 minutes of representative rugby league. The showpiece was undermined by a desperately poor performance from Queensland who were flattered by the 6-18 scoreline.
NSW deserve enormous credit for their control in all facets of the game at Suncorp Stadium, and they look set for a long period of ascendancy with Payne Haas dominating up front, Nathan Cleary dictating terms in the halves, and Zac Lomax demonstrating that precious ability to elevate his performance to the size of the occasion.
It is going to require an incredible turnaround for Queensland as the Origin caravan decamps in the west, and coach Billy Slater is already in the crosshairs following last year’s limp title defence. Slater has made a statement by putting Daly Cherry-Evans out to pasture, but he has more to worry about than simply who plays first receiver.
After four defeats in their past five outings perhaps the famed Queensland underdog spirit will come to the fore and keep the 2025 series alive? Or maybe it will simply be further confirmation that we are in a golden age of NSW rugby league.
