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NSW have won the opening State of Origin clash in Brisbane for the first time in 11 years with a 12-8 victory over Queensland at Suncorp Stadium in a thrilling encounter.
Inspired by a brilliant Jarryd Hayne performance, who was named Man of the Match, the Blues produced an unbelievable defensive effort in the final 15 minutes to hold out the Maroons, who haven’t lost at home in five years.
Relive all the action in our live blog of the match
Hayne scored a try in the first half and set up a Brett Morris four-pointer in addition to making a try-saving play with less than two minutes remaining when he dived on a Johnathan Thurston grubber-kick.
A questionable knock-on call against Trent Hodkinson in the final 30 seconds gave the Maroons a scrum 10 metres in front to the Blues’ posts, but they somehow held firm to stun the home crowd of over 52,000.
As they have so many times in the past, Queensland got off to a flying start when Darius Boyd opened the scoring after seven minutes with his 13th Origin try.
Debutant winger Daniel Tupou was dragged into touch and after Beau Scott missed a tackle on Thurston, the ball was spread wide for the Newcastle fullback to score.
But the game swung in the Blues’ favour when Cooper Cronk was forced out of the game with a broken arm after teammate Nate Myles appeared to catch him accidentally in a tackle.
A sustained spell of pressure from NSW finally paid off when Brett Morris finished following an audacious flick pass from Hayne to his twin brother Josh.
Debutant halfback Hodkinson failed to kick the extra points but he did kick a penalty in the 25th minute to give NSW the lead.
With Cronk off the field, the Maroons lacked their usual fluidity in attack as Daly Cherry-Evans took time to settle into the game.
The Blues forwards continued to hurt the hosts with their offloads and Hayne produced another piece of brilliance to touch down one-handed after brushing off Thurston.
Hodkinson’s kick extended the lead to 10-4.
Immediately after the restart Hodkinson kicked a penalty in front of the posts and with Cameron Smith struggling with a leg injury the Maroons were at sixes and sevens.
But champions side don’t lie down and Queensland showed their class with a stunning finish.
Boyd added his second try with 15 minutes to go and the Blues found themselves hanging on stoically in defence.
“I feel extremely proud, many things went against them – they dug deep and that was one of NSW’s finest performances,” Blues coach Laurie Daley said.
“I was just proud of their effort. For us we have belief now.”
Blues skipper Paul Gallen hailed his side’s defensive effort and added NSW have the belief to win the series.
“That was an unbelievable effort, we got some calls go against us in the last three minutes,” Gallen said.
“We played well in the first half and they revved up on us, but we held on.”
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HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE STATE OF ORIGIN OPENER BETWEEN NSW AND QUEENSLAND AT SUNCORP STADIUM
* 5 MIN: Darius Boyd scores his 13th Origin try in the left-hand corner after a slick backline movement. All too easy.
Johnathan Thurston misses the conversion. QLD 4 NSW 0
* 10 MIN: Cooper Cronk leaves the field with a suspected broken arm. A major change for the home side but a testament to Queensland’s depth as they bring on Australian representative Daly Cherry-Evans.
* 19 MIN: Brett Morris scores after Blues fullback Jarryd Hayne uses his speed to create an overlap. Morris appears to hurt his shoulder in crossing the stripe but plays on. Trent Hodkinson misses his conversion attempt to the left. QLD 4, NSW 4
* 25 MIN: NSW awarded a penalty from 30m out. Hodkinson kicks the goal. NSW 6, QLD 4
* 28 MIN: Josh Reynolds placed on report for a dangerous tackle, also involving Beau Scott, on Chris McQueen but the Maroons lose possession from the first tackle after the penalty.
* 33 MIN: Hayne beats the tackle of Thurston and rolls over to plant the ball over the tryline. Video referee confirms there was no double movement. NSW 10, QLD 4.
* 38 MIN: Matt Gillett spills a Cherry-Evans short ball close to the line to kill Queensland’s last chance before the break.
HALFTIME: NSW 10, QLD 4SECOND HALF
* 44min: Hodkinson kicks a penalty goal from in front after Corey Parker is penalised for holding down in the tackle. NSW 12, QLD 4
* 45min: Maroons in deep trouble with star hooker Cameron Smith suffering a suspected ankle injury. He soldiers on.
* 47min: Play stopped to check on Blues skipper Paul Gallen, who is seemingly hurt in a bone-crunching tackle by Josh Papalii. It could be whiplash or a cynic would say Gallen is trying to milk a penalty. Either way, Gallen plays on.
* 51min: Josh Morris pulls off a try-saving tackle on Aidan Guerra a metre from the tryline.
* 52min: Hayne makes a clean break but is brought down by Billy Slater and loses the ball. The Hayne Plane is flying high!
* 56min: Boyd scores his second try of the night. Thurston and Greg Inglis combine to create space for Boyd in the left corner. Thurston misses the extras. NSW 12, QLD 8.
* 66min: Thurston drops an easy pass on the 40m line after a passage of domination by the Maroons. A big turning point in the context of a thrilling match.
* 71min: Maroons prop Nate Myles penalised for raking the ball. Luke Lewis knocks on with the Blues on the attack in the next set.
* 74min: Brett Morris pulls off a potentially match-saving play with a superb head-on tackle to deny Boyd his hat-trick.
* 78min: Hayne grounds a Thurston grubber to prevent a Queensland try. The Maroons went on the attack following an Inglis break.
* 80min: Slater hurt in a Beau Scott hit after he passed the ball.
* 80min: Maroons get a penalty after the siren sounds. Slater tackled in a last-ditch attempt to score. The Blues win their first Origin opener at Suncorp Stadium since 2003 and will hope to wrap up the series in Sydney on June 18.FULLTIME: NSW 12, QLD 8
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