Hayne? Morris? Guerra? Who were the best in Origin 1?

State of Origin game 100, it was built up as one of the biggest and it certainly didn’t disappoint.

From the opening kick off, it was an enthralling and almost gladiatorial contest, with strong runs, big hits, classy skills and desperate defence. Both the Blues and the Maroons had their opportunities to win the game.

In the end it was a well deserved win to NSW, with the Blues grinding out a hard fought victory up at Suncorp Stadium in front of 52,000 fans.

Game 1 was definitely cracker and delivered it all, which made it all the more difficult to come up with my top five performers for the night. Here they are.

5 – Aaron Woods
This being Woods second Origin game, you could be mistaken for thinking he might do his job but not have a great impact. But the young 23-year-old was definitely out to prove a point.

The big Tigers prop made almost 100 metres in just his 10 runs, which in the first half especially was one of the big reasons NSW got on a roll and gained some momentum through the middle.

Early in the first half, Woods was making 10 metres per run easily, charging his big strong frame through the Queensland defensive line every time.

Defensively he worked hard, making 27 tackles and only missing one. He put his body on the line and dominated the Maroons forwards all throughout the game. If Aaron Woods can perform like that in all three games this series NSW will win, he is that powerful.

4 – Aiden Guerra
The rookie of the team, first timer, the man who never played a game of Origin in his life. Well you wouldn’t have known that if you watched him play last night.

With Sam Thaiday out, Guerra stood up and delivered a stellar performance. In the first half when NSW seemed to dominate in the forwards, Guerra was a stand out for the Maroons making on average 10 metres every run.

In his two stints on the field he made 71m from only eight runs, breaking the line every time.

21 tackles and one miss shows the work Guerra was wiling to do for his state, marking up on Paul Gallen a lot of the time which is no easy task.

I think Queensland have unearthed a gem in Aiden Guerra, his commitment in both attack and defence was phenomenal and in a beaten side he was without a doubt a stand out. I think we will be seeing a lot more of him in a Maroon jersey for years to come.

3 – Paul Gallen
How can you have a top five without Blues skipper and enforcer, Paul Gallen? Having been a part of eight straight series losses, Gallen has gone into this Origin series with a clear goal. He knows he must win, and his stats back that up.

Topping the stats for most runs in the game, the NSW captain took the ball up 22 times with a total of 170m made.

They weren’t always your big barnstorming runs like Woods or Tamou, but they were effective and always timely, right when his side needed him to stand up.

Defensively Gallen was superb, making 33 tackles through out the contest.

They weren’t just any 33 tackles however, anytime the big tackle needed to be made, Gallen was there.

Whether it was a Queensland forward starting to get momentum through the middle or a back who found some space out wide, Gallen was on the spot to come up with the big play.

Late in the second half, the Maroons need one try for victory. Gallen has just made a tackle and a break is made up the middle, as he gets back on side he sees Billy Slater with open space and grabs him by the shirt and wrestles him to the ground.

If he doesn’t make that tackle, there’s a completely different ending to the game. Inspirational, tenacious and determined, the Blues skipper showed the way yet again for his NSW side.

2 – Brett Morris
They say great players come up with the big moments in a game, if that’s the case then Brett Morris came up with some of the biggest and most influential moments of State of Origin 1, 2014.

Just looking at his stats doesn’t give you the full picture of how good the Dragon really was. Both he and his twin brother Josh were solid in defence all night, having the difficult task of keeping Darius Boyd and Greg Inglis quiet.

Although Boyd crossed twice over in the corner, it would be his opposite number who would produce the big plays. First half, Queensland had got themselves on the board with a slick sweeping play out to Boyd’s wing. Needing to retaliate with points quickly, it was Brett Morris who crossed over in the 19th minute with the help of some Jarryd Hayne brilliance.

In scoring the spectacular try Morris dislocated his right shoulder and looked to be in a fair bit of discomfort. After being assessed on the sideline Morris insisted he was fine to continue. His next big play would come late in the second half when the Maroons were on top and looking to seal another Queensland win.

Yet again it was a sweeping play out to Darius Boyd and with seemingly more momentum it looked for sure to be a try, however Brett Morris had managed (bad shoulder and all) to deny the Queensland winger by getting under him and not letting him go.

A try there and its locked up at 12-12. A lot of Blues players did some great things last night, agreed. But ask yourself this, If Brett Morris doesn’t come up with those two plays, do NSW win? I don’t think so. Brett Morris take a bow.

1 – Jarryd Hayne
If you don’t have Jarryd Hayne’s name as number one on your list, your name must be Stevie Wonder. Cometh the hour, cometh the man, last night Hayne’s performance was one of the most outstanding and influential that I have ever had the privilege of witnessing.

Where do you start? His kick returns were top class, always getting the Blues on the front foot. His involvement in the attacking plays was key to the two tries that were scored. He was just pure class.

His positional play in defence at the back was first class, coming up with some big tackles at key moments in the game and defusing many attacking raids. In the second half when Queensland amped up their defence and had NSW pinned inside their own 30, it was Haynes big boot that kicked the Blues out of trouble.

Everything Jarryd touched last night turned to gold. He was brilliant, simply brilliant.

But then again should we be so surprised? If you look back on his State of Origin past it is full of highlights and big plays. In his first game he made a run down the touchline and put a kick in, regathered and scored a try. When he is on, there is none better.

If the NSW Blues are to go on and win the 2014 State of Origin series, which I think they will, it will be largely to do with Jarryd Hayne’s involvement.

He is just that influential. What he can do, no one else can. The plays he can pull off, no one else can. As a lover of rugby league, thank you Jarryd Hayne for pulling off one of the greatest State of Origin performances we have ever seen. What a legend.