For New South Wales, a collective sigh of relief. “If not now, when?” was the question hanging over the Blues’ heads in the lead-up to this State of Origin series, but after spirited performances from Andrew Fifita, James Tedesco, Nathan Peats and James Maloney, NSW scored five tries to beat Queensland 28-4 and take the all-important first game.
NSW played energetic and focused, if unspectacular football from start to finish. The forwards made good metres, there were very few errors and the players showed an intent that will send a strong message to the Queenslanders. It is a rare occasion that the Maroons are dominated on home soil. Hooker Nathan Peats, who left the field briefly with a corked thigh after half-time, played a gutsy match, while Tedesco – both in attack and defence – and Fifita were standouts for the Blues.
NSW coach Lawrie Daley praised the “desire and effort” of his side’s defence. “In Origin, to win Origin games you’ve got to save more tries than the opposition,” he said. “It’s not always about scoring its about saving, they’re probably more important.”
Mitchell Pearce, who was under enormous pressure to perform after so many losing performances for the Blues, not to mention missing the 2016 series through poor off-field behaviour, made his mark in the first half. His kicking could have been better, perhaps, but he was in the thick of the action and scored a try of his own in the dying moments of the first half.
Queensland started fast, were given the first penalty after four minutes, and almost went over for the first try soon after as Corey Oates tried in vain to claw back a searching kick in the far left corner.
The first try however came via NSW hard-man Fifita, who was inspired form. After seven minutes Fifita, as he would do for the entire night, burst through Queensland’s defensive line, held off two would-be tacklers and, as he approached the 20 metre line, threw a superb right hand offload to the onrushing Maloney, who dashed under the posts to the delight of his team-mates and the few Blues fans at Suncorp Stadium. Maloney converted his own try to make it 6-0 to NSW.
There was no famous Origin biff, no mistakes and only one penalty apiece in the first half. Pearce repeatedly put up the high ball to test Oates, but the Queensland winger was consistently up to the task. Likewise, Queensland halfback Cooper Cronk tested the NSW backline with several first-half bombs, with little success.
It was Fifita who looked most likely for NSW as he bashed his way through the middle of the park, daring the Queensland players to try and slow him down. The Blues found themselves in good field position, thanks to powerful runs by the forwards but as they approached the try line they botched several first-half chances.
Queensland crossed over after 34 minutes thanks to Oates, who athletically caught a piercing cross-field kick from Cronk. But Cameron Smith, playing his 40th Origin, uncharacteristically botched the conversion. There would be no Queensland comeback, as NSW crossed over through Pearce just before half-time. In what would be a telling play, Graham combined brilliantly with Tedesco down the left channel to send Pearce over to make it 12-4 at half-time.
After the break it was all NSW. Queensland’s much-hyped five-eighth, Anthony Milford, did not make much of an impression on his Origin debut, while the rest the Maroons looked strangely directionless in front of a shell-shocked Queensland crowd.
After the restart Hayne was almost over as Dane Gagai dropped a high ball, but he could not quite hold the ball and the chance went begging. In the next 20 minutes, however, Fifita, Hayne and Tedesco each crossed over to put the game beyond doubt.
The third try of the night came via Tedesco, on 52 minutes, as he stepped off his right leg, brushed past Anthony Milford and Sam Thaiday and slammed the ball over the try line. Then it was Fifita’s turn, as he collected a dropped ball near the Queensland in-goal and bustled over for a much-deserved try. Next it was Hayne. In his first Origin match since his famous stint in the NFL, Hayne went over in the left corner and rushed straight into the delirious Blues supporters behind the in-goal. Every NSW fan was happy to have the Hayne plane back.
Indeed for the long-suffering NSW supporters, the light at the end of the tunnel is now glowing brighter than ever. The scoreboard, the momentum and the confidence is all with the Blues. Queensland’s decade of dominance may soon be over.
“I just thought we got a lesson tonight about how Origin football and how it should be played,” said Queensland coach Kevin Walters. “Our effort from our guys was really good, they gave us nothing in the first half, and I guess that try on half-time really sort of was a big turning point in the game.
“That lifted their spirits and obviously put a big dint in ours.”
