Queensland captain Cameron Smith has claimed man of the match honours in Game 1 of the State of Origin series, in the Maroons’ 11-10 win over the NSW Blues.
It is the fifth time Smith has earned the man of the match accolade in an Origin fixture.
Full State of Origin 1 wrap:
>> ORIGIN 1 MATCH REPORT
>> FULL ORIGIN RESULTS
>> Live blog and highlights
>> Cameron Smith given man of the match
>> The Roar’s Origin 1 player ratings: Queensland
>> The Roar’s Origin 1 player ratings: New South Wales
Picked by the Queensland and NSW selectors, Smith’s generalship in attack and massive effort in defence earned him the honour over fellow strong performers Cooper Cronk, Will Chambers and Matt Scott.
In the end, Queensland made their experience in the big matches count, getting into a good position with seven minutes remaining on the clock, and delivering a field goal shot to Cooper Cronk.
He made no mistake, putting Queensland ahead by one point.
Josh Dugan had an opportunity to level it up, but it wasn’t as straight forward as Cronk’s, and he skewed it to the right.
Smith’s opposite captain and hooker Robbie Farah endured a tough night, damaging his shoulder in a tackle in the first half. Despite that, he made an astonishing 63 tackles.
The Prize_Man
Roar Pro
Yeah, i had Cam Smith for MOM as well. Masterful display, controlled the game. The way that he manipulates the markers and tight spot is so much better than the next best hooker it's astounding.
Jay C
Roar Guru
Ahhhh, Sandow. I think sometimes Bennett says what he wants to say, rather than what he thinks.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Farah was rubbish. The pass to Pearce was a shocker when NSW desperately needed to start the second half well. Can you imagine Smith and Cronk stuffing up like that? No plan for the blues in the last 10. As captain and dummy half Farah should have been guiding them into position instead they were directionless and he's throwing the ball to the wrong bloke. 60 tackles? How many of them were effective in the second half? He was basically standing in the defensive line waiting for the qld forwards to get to him and then getting dragged 5 metres.
dissapointedNSWfan
Guest
Justin Hodges is a grub, always has been, and the only reason he makes ground is because he is so big and lanky and the small opposing players cant get a hold of him or get a mallet and give him a wack on the head so he will go down. lol
dissapointedNSWfan
Guest
I put it on 'MUTE' as I did for most of the SOO game.
Jackson Henry
Roar Guru
See, this is why I'll never be a RL expert. I think Smith generally is pretty good, but when all the aficiandos crap on about how he's the best ever, I just nod my head and agree, despite not really knowing what they're talking about. And because their resumes are decidely better than mine. I took issue with Wayne Bennett's one time rap on Chris Sandow though. Seriously, Benny, eyes are painted on mate.
dissapointedNSWfan
Guest
At 44min & 72min and a few more min in the game, the cure for all that is 'Adam Reynolds'. But 'turbodewd' it wasn't Farrah that kicked for touch and missed, it was Hodkinson, who should have done better and that was a disgraceful effort for a player playing SOO. Get your facts right, but either way that was a bad miss at a crucial time in the game.
Danny
Guest
Billy Slater. The busiest man all night.
Jay C
Roar Guru
It surprises me that you don't see it. He was close to perfect last night.
Jackson Henry
Roar Guru
Yeah, look, I just don't see it.
Pravin Chanmugam
Roar Rookie
most outrageous call ever.... chambers dugan woods tamou slater cronk best 6 on field for me
Jay C
Roar Guru
Hodges was close to the best on park tonight. Carved up through dummy half.
Jay C
Roar Guru
Cam Smith was the deserved MOTM. I had him picked for it at full time. His control of the ruck is why Queensland won. The game, and particularly the second half, was played completely on his terms.
djcooper
Roar Guru
I thought it was the best game I have seen smith play in ages. Whenever QLD were struggling he was the one getting them on the front foot or making a desperate tackle. Chambers and Cronk also had wonderful games but I thought smith controlled the ruck beautifully.
Mitcher
Guest
The Murdoch papers in qld and nsw cook that stuff up together as a laugh. The only shame is if any readers take it seriously enough to react.
Sean
Guest
Who knows. Channel Nine love finding new ways to baffle.
Alex L
Roar Rookie
Regardless of who he meant to go to, if the same pass had gone to Hodkinson it still would've been very difficult for him to get onto the boot cleanly with a marker sprinting out to pressure him.
Jake
Guest
Turbo it wasn't Farrah who missed touch. It was Hodko. Get your facts right, champ.
Pomski
Guest
Hahahahaha!Lol. Good one.
pjm
Roar Rookie
Hoffman just wanted someone to punch him so they'd get a penalty.