The opening 30 minutes of the game by Queensland was described by Wally Lewis as the best he’s ever seen. Repeat set after repeat set, and just as New South Wales had a sniff, the Maroons ripped the heart out of the Blues. Queensland’s player ratings.
Queensland Maroons player ratings
Billy Slater
Words fail to do justice, but I’ll try: safe in defence, brilliant in attack. Absolute pure class, and a joy to watch. He’s honestly worth the price of admission alone.
Rating: 9
Jharal Yow Yeh
Made some big hits in defence, and scored a try off a Lockyer kick and a rough bounce on Minichiello. Uate and Yow Yeh were the finds of the 2011 series
Rating: 7.5
Greg Inglis
People laughed when I said he looked like he was returning to his damaging best in game II. Only Queenslanders are laughing now. Looked as fit as he has in a long time, and scored two tries.
Rating: 8
Justin Hodges
Looked seriously short of a gallop, and whilst it’s to be expected, Queensland are lucky it didn’t cost them.
Rating: 4
Darius Boyd
Wasn’t really given the chance to shine in attack or defence. But in a winning side, and remembering that it’s a team game, it’s worth noting that he did nothing wrong.
Rating: 5
Darren Lockyer (c)
Far from being a passenger in his last Origin game, Lockyer controlled the flow and tempo of the game beautifully. His kicking game was brilliant and he leaves State of Origin as a winner. A thoroughly deserving one at that.
Rating: 8
Johnathan Thurston
Was back to his Origin best before suffering a nasty looking injury.
Rating: 7
Ashley Harrison
Not his greatest game, but a marked improvement on his Sydney performance. Solid, if unspectacular, but that’s exactly what was asked and required of him.
Rating: 6.5
Sam Thaiday
Returned to his rampaging best. Constantly damaging in attack and defence. Needs to eradicate some grubbiness from his game that is starting to creep in – he’s better than that, and doesn’t need to niggle to be effective.
Rating: 8.5
Nate Myles
Played like an extra prop forward, proving that size is not a redundant quality in State of Origin football. Made plenty of hit ups and plenty of metres.
Rating: 7.5
Matt Scott
Scott delivered an old-school prop game with plenty of power, grunt and hard yards, coupled with bruising tackling. Along with his fellow frontrower, he was the cornerstone of the Maroons go-forward.
Rating: 8
Cameron Smith
Absolutely outstanding once again. Simply brilliant in all facets of the game. However, it was very surprising to see his cheap shot on Hayne late in the second half, as that type of garbage has never been a part of his game, but we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.
Rating: 9
Petero Civoniceva
If Father Time was tapping him on the shoulder in game II, Petero clothes-lined him in game III. Made hit-up after hit-up, and tackle after tackle. Together with Matt Scott, provided the foundation for the Maroons go-forward.
Rating: 8
Interchange:
Cooper Cronk
Saw less game time than he did in the first two encounters, but was able to slot into his favoured halfback position when Thurston got injured. Whilst he didn’t stand out, he made all the right decisions in his limited game time.
Ranking: 6
Corey Parker
Extremely solid in attack and defence, and made the most of some limited opportunities. Particularly in the second half, which can’t be underestimated, as the Blues attempted a comeback.
Ranking: 6
Ben Hannant
Was very effective off the bench, constantly making metres. He was extremely unlucky not to be awarded a try in the second half. What happened to benefit of the doubt? No one can tell me he definitively didn’t get the ball down?
Rating: 6.5
Jacob Lillyman
Very strong in defence and attack, and gave the Maroons exactly what they were after when Dave Taylor was ruled out via suspension.
Rating: 6
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