Match Result:
The Queensland Maroons have brought up an Origin point scoring record this evening along with a half century of points with a dominating performance to win the deciding match of the 2015 State of Origin Series by 46 points over the New South Wales Blues.
More Origin 3
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» Seven talking points from Origin 3
» State of Origin 3 live scores, blog
» WATCH: Billy Slater comes oh so close to starting his Origin farewell with a try
» WATCH: Maloney binned for ‘professional foul’ on Slater
» WATCH: Tariq Sims has brain fade – tackles marker
The Blues might have come out of the sheds firing, but were in the contest for all of about the first three minutes before the Maroons took over with champion performances from the likes of Greg Inglis, Cooper Cronk and Johnathan Thurston backed up by a forwards pack that rolled over the Blues pack all night.
The Blues opened the scoring with a penalty goal in the fourth minute of the game before the Maroons did the same down the other end just a couple of minutes later.
The first try meanwhile was scored by Dane Gagai, on his Origin debut in the right corner of the ground following a long pass from the middle and some sloppy offloading.
From there things only got better for the Maroons as Papalii crossed on the left hand side from a Johnathan Thurston pass in the face of some incredibly soft defence.
The next try came in the 35th minute to Greg Inglis, again a soft try set up by the play making duo of Cooper Cronk and Johnathan Thurston.
At half time the score line read 22-2 and it was clear the Blues were going to have to come out firing in the second half.
However the second half started even worse than the first half ended for the Blues with David Klemmer making a mistake on the second play of the half, which allowed Matt Gillett to cross for a try.
It was however an incredible try. After a grubber kick went into the in goal, Justin Hodges chased it down to bat it back into the field of play, from a fair distance out and it sat up for Gillett to score the opening try of the second half.
Michael Morgan was next to score for the Maroons runing through a Blues defence that resembled a leaking ship by that point. The Maroons were keeping the foot on the pedal and werent letting up on anything, fighting for every lose ball and defending hard.
The Blues could hardly get out of their own end and in the 57th minute it was Darius Boyd who scored in the left corner from a wonderful long ball, provided by Thurston.
The Maroons however, in the 61st minute finally made a mistake and Michael Jennings was able to pounce on an intercept to run 60 metres and score.
That try made the score 40-6, however the Maroons went right back to heaping the misery on the Blues scoring two tries before the end of the game to Will Chambers in the 68th minute and Aiden Guerra in the 78th minute, set up by a Greg Inglis pass from dummy half.
Johnathan Thurston’s goal kicking must also be taken into account, not missing one all night in an incredible performance with the boot.
There was nothing to like about the Blues performance, however Josh Dugan was solid at the back, whilst Michael Jennings and Brett Morris looked threatening at times.
In the end an incredible performance from the Maroons, one that no one could have predicted at the start of the game and they reclaim the State of Origin Shield in 2015.
Full Time:
Queensland Maroons 52
New South Wales Blues 6
Match Preview:
The 2015 State of Origin series between the Queensland Maroons and the New South Wales Blues will be decided tonight. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 8pm (AEST).
Will the Maroons reclaim the shield or will the Blues make it two series in a row?
The Queensland Maroons took the first game of the series in a nail biter, with the game closed out by a Cooper Cronk field goal.
Game 2 saw the series go to the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where NSW won by eight points in one of the most free-flowing games in recent Origin history.
The stage is now set for the decider as the series heads to Suncorp Stadium, where the Maroons have a brilliant record in recent times, with the Blues only able to win three from the last 10 games.
Lang Park is generally rated to be the best place to watch league in Australia due to the incredible atmosphere the ground creates. This will be a major stumbling block for the Blues and a good start is essential.
The Maroons welcome back star half Cronk in what is a massive plus for the side. He is swapped straight in for Daly Cherry-Evans, with Michael Morgan retaining his bench spot.
In a massive out for the Maroons, Billy Slater has been ruled out for the rest of the season. Greg Inglis moves from the centres to fullback, Will Chambers moves to the centres and Dane Gagai comes in on the wing for his Origin debut. Josh McGuire is also out with injury, with Josh Papalii into the side on the bench. Edrick Lee is the 18th man.
The Blues have been named as unchanged however that is likely to change. Robbie Farah had surgery on a broken hand last week and is unlikely to take his place, with Michael Ennis to be brought in.
It will take a complete and total team performance to win tonight, however each team has a player who could have a large influence.
For the Maroons it is Cronk. When he is not playing the Maroons tend to get a little bit lost in attack, as we saw in last year’s series and the second game in Melbourne. Cronk’s cool head and calm thinking improves the Maroons.
Josh Dugan was close to the Blues’ best in Game 1 and despite being quiet in Game 2 he still scored the winning try. The key will be his kick returns and influence in attack.
Prediction
The Maroons should be able to get the job done on the back of a returning Cooper Cronk and massive home support. It will be a close one though.
Maroons by 2.
Join The Roar for live scores and coverage of this deciding State of Origin match from 8pm (AEST) and don’t hesitate to leave your comments below.
Brett
Guest
And yet you watch the games. You NSW fans whinge more than the Poms!!!
Brett
Guest
Ennis is like the Anti-Smith. No idea how to talks to the refs.
Anto
Guest
Errr, you do know that the Blues are the cockroaches and the Maroons are the cane toads, don't you? In 1780, there was no Qld - you're about 80 years off. Oh, and go the Bronc's!
Rt
Guest
Spot on
Rt
Guest
Yes that's it. Because your 13 thugs beat our 13 thugs you are simply better people. You can now walk around secure in the knowledge that you're morally and physically superior to people from NSW (rolls eyes)
steveng
Roar Rookie
That's ONLY IN YOUR DELUDED IMAGINATION,.SOO is about all that you have and even that had to be given to Qld on a platter every year by doubtful refereeing from the beginning. Anyways, who cares? Only Qld cockroaches care about this stupid SOO, it must be 'an inbuilt inferiority complex' since 1780 - Go The Bunnies!!!
KillaKanga
Roar Rookie
turbodewd Spot on about Slopoate and to think he gets $800,000 a year !?!? and ditto regards Ferguson . I have said since game one that Slopoate is a hindrance and Fergo should have been playing but to be honest , it wouldn't have much difference last night and I never want to see JuJu in a blue shirt ever again ! There is one more name I would add to the punt list....a coach who pics his halves months before the first game and steadfastly refuses to listen to reason .
Anto
Guest
The difference, of course, is that Qlders have more heart, more guts, more determination and more pride. Just the facts.
Anto
Guest
Awww, don't cry buddy. Don't worry. You might win a series once a decade or so. It's just unfortunate for you that it happened to be last year. Just another 10 years of telling yourself that it doesn't matter. LOL!!!! [BTW, I'm old enough to remember when Qld vs NSW was based on where you played 1st grade. Back then, it was a non-event, because all of our best players played in the professional NSWRL. Of course, they trashed us each year, usually with half their team consisting of Qlders. The moment SOO started, was the moment the myth of NSW producing the best rugby league players died. Since then, we've been more than matching your best, and SOO has been the best spectacle in the world of league.]
steveng
Roar Rookie
Who give a S$$it about SOO, only you cockroaches rednecks need SOO to be noticed up there. SOO is not the be all and end all that all you Queenslanders think it is. The sooner they get rid of SOO the better the NRL comp will be and the least it will divide Australia when it needs to be as one. Down here in NSW we don't care about SOO, just have a look at how many blues supporters were there at this game.
Ginger Meggs
Guest
Well, the majority of the pundits, gurus and media genii were out in their postulations by 50 points or so....no I am not talking about the cricket....might it be time for the NRL and the NSWRL to consider that it is time to assemble a team, coaches,selectors and players, whose objective is to play positive rugby league to win, rather than to be media performers and to provide grist for the media drivel that precedes and pollutes the State of Origin series. Like Queensland does. Why a competition that has always pulled huge audiences needs to be boosted by this accretion of rubbish is beyond me and many other league followers. Why a coach that picks his half combination before the season starts just so the press can rabbit on about it for months then picks "all big super boofy blokes" because the current league brains trust mostly comes from north of the border and we need the contrast, you know like, fighter versus boxer, I think it no small task to pick a NSW side that will beat Queensland but we might have a chance if it is picked on form. On the game itself...the channel nine commentary team don't give a particularly rapid fire commentary of the game but I do not recall hearing Mitchell Pearce being named after the commencement. He is an energetic and athletic player, without being a brilliant strategist, and probably the best half playing in NSW. Why was he playing five-eight, and where did he disappear to. The stats say that he missed more tackles than the Queensland team. He is a sturdy defender so I imagine that he must have been involved in many more tackles, doing the job of a defending second-rower, while the phalanx of big Boppers were hanging around looking for someone to crunch, bash, intimidate (like Corey Parker, not) or upend.
Alan Highwater
Guest
If they'd have stopped the clock for conversions tonight they would have been playing at midnight !!!!... Great night seeing N.S.W. getting a complete puzzling - not much better than that...
Bronco Juggernaut
Guest
Jara W was having a joke. Two heads? that's rich coming from the state of probably the most up themselves people in Australia. Also the biggest cry babies and hypocrites in Australia.
Bronco Juggernaut
Guest
cry, cry, cry, cry that's all that i am hearing. Typical souths fans.
Bronco Juggernaut
Guest
JT > Cronk > Light years > every other halfback in the game
Bronco Juggernaut
Guest
Could not care less about England vs. NZ. Much rather Origin. Nz vs. England will be much more one sided than Origin. Origin still the pinnacle and will be until more than three teams can challenge in international rugby league (which is hopefully very soon)
Bronco Juggernaut
Guest
You wouldn't be saying that if NSW were up. You are just being a sore loser.
Bronco Juggernaut
Guest
I couldn't care less about NZ vs. England, simply because Australia aren't playing. NZ vs. England will be more one sided than Origin, NZ will win by 30 every game. England are a myth.
jamesb
Guest
No of course not. Qld fans would be saying a 46 point loss is unacceptable lol. Bronco, at the end of the day, we just want to see a contest, not a lopsided game.
Jimmy Blue
Guest
Its a bigger issue than that. Another Origin series win is great for Queensland and even better for AFL. I don't know about Queensland but there are AFL goal posts spring up everywhere across NSW. Young kid's parents think AFL is safer and their kids can't compete in league. They don't want their kids to play League because its dominated in Sydney by ethnic groups with bigger stronger and faster kids. At the beginning of last year's series I asked the neighbour's kids about SOO - their response: its boring - NSW always lose. I reckon when those kids grow to adults they'll follow AFL In 20 years Queensland will be playing Papua New Guinea for Origin.