The Queensland Maroons were triumphant in Game 1 in the 2016 State of Origin series, recording a 6-4 victory.
More from State of Origin 1:
» Five talking points
» The big issues examined
» The Liebke Ratings
» Laurie Daley drops a post-Origin bombshell
» State of Origin Game 1 full time: Queensland hold on to win
» All the action in our live blog
It was hardly a dominant performance from the Maroons, as they barely held on to their slender lead during the second half, but with a strong defensive line – particularly in their own 20 – New South Wales simply couldn’t find a way through.
The Maroons now head to Suncorp Stadium for Game 2 holding a 1-0 lead, with a strong chance to close out the series.
Here are the New South Wales Blues player ratings.
1. Darius Boyd – 9
Was selected as the Maroons fullback, fending off competition from Greg Inglis, but did his job and then some. He was outstanding in defence, and added plenty in attack, running the ball hard and adding a hand in the limited creativity stakes.
2. Corey Oates – 5
Had limited impact on the wing, and while he didn’t do much with his 15 runs in the way of looking threatening, many were out of his own end. Busted a few tackles as well.
3. Greg Inglis – 6
Inglis barely touched the ball in the first half, as Queensland continually attacked down the right-hand edge. During the second half though, they changed their focus and while Inglis was controlled well by Josh Morris, he made some big runs out of his own end, looked threatening and was strong in defence.
4. Justin O’Neill – 6
O’Neill rose to the occasion on his Origin debut, throwing the final pass in what proved to be the match-winning try. Had plenty of strong runs and combined well with Dane Gagai, defending strongly down the Blues left attacking side.
5. Dane Gagai – 8
Gagai was fantastic in his second Origin game. Was on the end of the Maroons only try, scoring in the corner, but also made a massive 160 metres – the second most on ground – and added a line break.
6. Johnathan Thurston – 7
Thurston was fantastic controlling his team around the park. He pulled off some brilliant kicks under pressure and got Queensland looking to attack regularly, especially during the first half.
7. Cooper Cronk – 5
Coming into the game with an ankle injury, there was always a cloud over Cronk. Certainly his quietest Origin game in a long time, but he still had a strong long-range kicking game that got Queensland out of trouble more than once.
8. Matthew Scott – 7
The Origin war horse added nearly 100 metres throughout the game, and while the Blues controlled him as best they could, Scott still found a way to get things done.
9. Cameron Smith – 8
The Australian skipper gave fantastic service out of dummy half and went with the flow of the game – picking up his efforts in running and trying to catch markers out as players got tired and fatigues.
10. Nate Myles – 6
Nate Myles struggled for minutes, playing under half an hour – but wasn’t it worth it! He kept the Blues on the back foot with both running and defending, but couldn’t build momentum because of the constant shifts of the game.
11. Matt Gillett – 9
The best forward on the ground. Didn’t put a foot wrong with his 90 metres, tackle bust, line break, offload and fantastic defence.
12. Sam Thaiday – 7
Played plenty of minutes for the Maroons and had his usual impact, making some damaging runs and earth-shaking tackles. Really made life hard for the Blues forwards.
13. Corey Parker – 8
In a performance that was typical and almost expected of the offloading machine, he added 146 metres, a couple of offloads and was strong in every element of his game. His massive runs got Queensland out of their red zone as they desperately held onto the slender lead during the second half.
14. Michael Morgan – 2
Barely made the field before he had to leave with concussion after a nasty collision. In that time though he had two dangerous runs – he is going to be an Origin star one day.
15. Josh McGuire – 5
McGuire was a real rock off the bench, making 106 metres, 30 tackles and adding an offload for good measure. Really worried the Blues defensively.
16. Aiden Guerra – 3
Had limited impact off the bench. Played 27 minutes, struggled to make runs of any substance, but was solid in defence.
17. Josh Papalii – 7
Was absolutely fantastic off the bench, really playing to his potential in the middle part of the game, meaning Kevin Walters could afford to give his starting forwards prolonged breaks – which undoubtedly helped Queensland in the last ten minutes.
What do you think Roarers? How would you have rated the Queensland Maroons in Game 1?
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