The New South Wales Blues have cruised past the Queensland Maroons in Game 1 of the 2017 State of Origin series, scoring five tries to one to take a massive advantage out of the opener.
In what was an outstanding opening half of rugby league, a late flurry of attack from both sides ended with Mitchell Pearce crossing on the stroke of halftime to take a 12-4 lead at the break.
In the second stanza, Queensland just couldn’t keep up, falling to a 28-4 defeat in a very tough opening to the series for the defending champions.
More State of Origin Game 1 coverage
» EXPERT REACTION: Queensland’s dynasty is over
» Match report: Blues’ onslaught stuns Maroons in their own back yard
» WATCH: All the Origin 1 highlights
In a game of highlights, grit, incidents, tries and plenty of action, here we are with the big talking points from the State of Origin Game 1.
Is the series already over?
It’s probably the most obvious statement ever made in the history of sport, but whoever wins Game 1 has a huge advantage going into the rest of the series.
For Queensland, a win at home would have set them up with a second home game in the series which would have been a massive mountain to climb for NSW.
For the Blues though, a win on the road in a series with two games in Brisbane is a massive coup, one that means they can travel to Sydney with all the confidence in the world.
A win at Lang Park for NSW is like hen’s teeth in this era of Queensland dominance but the Blues made it look easy, breaking away in the second half and taking the win and the momentum into the rest of the series.
Queenland just looked off. They weren’t as aggressive, they didn’t show as much fight, they just didn’t look up to the task.
Now, those are all media happy terms that commentators love to throw out there, but it’s true.
New South Wales looked the better side by a solid margin in the end and the final scoreline shows that. They took control of the game and once they got their noses in front, Queensland fell apart.
The most telling sign came midway through second half when Queensland were throwing the ball around all over the place right on the line on the last tackle. New South Wales were outnumbered and broken in defence, but they somehow found a way to keep them out, despite a string of overlaps.
Again, when Josh Dugan denied Aidan Guerra in the final ten minutes, that defensive desperation was clearly on display. Even with a handy lead and time running out, Dugan still gave it everything to slap the ball down from behind to save the day.
Just as coming to Brisbane is a huge hurdle for NSW, going down to Sydney having just been routed at home and needing to win to keep the series alive is a huge challenge for Queensland.
At this rate, the Maroons are in big trouble and the series could already have been decided after the first 80 minutes of Origin footy in 2017.
Andrew Fifita tore it up
Andrew Fifita is a fairly polarising figure at the best of times, with his controversies sometimes overshadowing his play on the field. Not this time.
His opening 40 minutes alone was a standout effort in the midst of one of the best Origin opening halves in recent memory.
Queensland just couldn’t bring him down and they paid the price for it, allowing him to drag the defence forward and free his arms for the offload, an offload that found that grateful hands of James Maloney who dashed away for the opening try of the series.
Despite looking a little shaky from a head knock, he was back up and at it in no time, racking up big metres all over the place. His ability to make ground after the first impact was something Queensland simply didn’t contain well enough, and also led to Mitchell Pearce’s try.
Fifita was rewarded 55 minutes into the game with an absolute gift of a four-pointer after a brain fade from Justin O’Neill, who knocked on a metre out from his own line, allowing the Blues prop to scoop it up and fall over the line.
The offloads came thick and fast as Fifita continued to shred it throughout the game. He looms as Queensland’s biggest threat for the rest of the series.
Queensland are lost without JT
The halves were always going to be a big point of concern for the Maroons, who were without star Jonathan Thurston for the first time in more than a decade.
For New South Wales, who usually go through more halves combinations than hot dinners each year, they’re used to chopping and changing. Not that it’s ever really worked for them.
For the Maroons, not having Thurston is something that hasn’t happened since 2005. No-one was expected to know how to handle his absence and it showed. The pre-game chatter about Anthony Milford or Michael Morgan taking the role only added to the confusion.
While Cooper Cronk tried his best to be his usual self and keep his side moving up the park with Cameron Smith, he just doesn’t have that pure brilliance of Thurston, nor the experience under big-game pressure or the x-factor Queensland needed.
This isn’t something that’s happened in recent times, but New South Wales undoubtedly won the battle of the halves. Yes, you read that correctly. A side with Mitchell Pearce, who missed the last quarter of the game due to a head knock, out-performed one with Cooper Cronk in the halves.
Queensland will be hoping Thurston is back and fully fit for Game 2 in three weeks’ time.
How about that opening half?
That was up one of the best, if not the best, State of Origin games in a long, long time from a pure footy standpoint.
The opening half was fast-paced, it was hard-hitting, it was intense and mistake-free.
It was about 20 minutes before the ball finally found touch for a scrum thanks to Cameron Smith, who knew his troops needed a breather, and understandably so.
Both sides had to really earn their points and despite just the one try in the first 35 minutes, it was still highly entertaining to watch.
Cooper Cronk may have summed it up best in the postgame interview.
“That’s one of the toughest halves of football I’ve played in a long time the first half,” he said.
“It was end-to-end and one little mistake could cost you.
“That’s what’s Origin is all about.”
Is Hayne back?
Ah, Jarryd Hayne. The human headline that followed his dreams to the United States, then over to Fiji and now back to the big stage of State of Origin.
While his opening 20 minutes or so were fairly quiet, it only took a few key moments for him to kick into gear and do what he does best: perform in the Origin arena.
A brilliant don’t argue (that’s a stiff-arm to you NFL fans of Hayne out there) on Will Chambers in the first half was followed up with another one seconds later, allowing the Titans star to find Brett Morris in open space and break away out wide.
Hayne bagged the Blues’ fifth and final try of the night in the 60th minute to seal the contest with a quarter of the match to go, celebrating with the crowd in a similar style to what we saw back in 2014.
The bullocking centre averaged double-figures for running metres every time he touched the ball, running with a purpose and strength that has looked absent at times throughout his stint with the Titans.
Hayne’s defence, while not as outstanding as his offence, held strong throughout the match. A savage tackle late in the match on his opposing centre, Justin O’Neill, was one of many defensive highlights for the Blues.
The laziness that many have accused the two-time Dally M winner of was thrown out the window. He was driven and motivated to be there, and Hayne performed and entertained throughout the match as only he can.
Vikki Gibbs
Guest
Congrats to The Blues Under 18 Team, what an amazing Game. Loved sitting in The Batchy Blues Area and watching QLD's fans faces each time we scored. We smiled for our Team each Lost Game and Series, love them when they Loose but not The QLD'ers. The Series is anyone's so why are they so damn miserable - it's only Game 1?
kk
Roar Pro
McGuire on Fifita. Forced him to have a concussion check.
steveng
Roar Rookie
What about the ones that Napa through? What about the ones that McGuire threw, all night? Don't just pick the eyes out for Qld as the refs did nothing to both sides. Some of the heads highs were very dangerous and could have done some real damage! Maybe in game 2 the refs will realise that SOO is not 'an all-inn' as some of the head highs were real dangerous and have to be policed more closely and judiciously!
andrew
Guest
Jealousy is a horrible curse. He is a showman. How dare he have some fun?!! What is "needy" about a bit of fun show-boating? His teammates were all in there celebrating with him and he was doing anything in the face of his opponent, so that is everyone that matters...who are you? Fall off the fence, please. Green Bay Packers have been jumping into the crowd since 1993 and nobody has ever said it's "unnecessary" and wagged their finger in disapproval! Infact the crowds and fans embrace it and take the opportunity to celebrate with their heroes instead of putting them down like you. If his coach was worried about him getting hurt he wouldn't be running full tilt at 100kg men and getting bashed for 80 minutes....
ajg
Guest
good call, you can tell how good a game the refs had by the fact that no one is talking about them
FreoFan
Roar Rookie
As a diehard AFL fan who grew up in WA and doesn't watch or know too much about Rugby League, I sat down on the couch last night and put the State of Origin game on just to fill some time. I often will watch major sporting events even if the outcome or the game itself isn't of much interest to me. In the past I've never really enjoyed anything to do with Rugby League too much. However, last night I found myself thoroughly enjoying the game! It was certainly the most enjoyable game I've seen. I don't watch enough to know how often the gameplay would be like this, but from a lot of the comments it sounds like everyone thought similar to me!
South Coast Bandit
Guest
show some loyalty, pick and stick?
South Coast Bandit
Guest
geez! one bad game and they want to chop and change the team like their from new-south-w.... wheres the loyalty QLD?!
Will Sinclair
Roar Guru
I was lucky enough to be sitting right where Hayne scored that try, and I thought his reaction was BRILLIANT. It might not have been on TV, but when the players ran out at the start of the game, Hayne jogged over to the Blues fans in the corner where we were and was pumping everyone up. He was incredibly fired up for the match. So when he then charged into our section after scoring that try - it felt entirely appropriate and, as I said, absolutely BRILLIANT! I won't be forgetting that moment for a long, long time.
Peter
Guest
Jarryd Hayne is a very good player when he turns up with his brain in gear, as he did last night. Otherwise no. "Celebrated, blah blah." Apart from being a very good player on his day, he behaves like an adulation-needy prat. How pissed will his coach, team-mates and employer be when he falls off the fence, buggers his ankle and is out for the season? "Oh well"' they'll say, "that's just Jarryd" ...not. It's stupidly and unnecessarily putting it all at risk for five seconds of "Look at me."
Jimmmy
Guest
You have no idea anout the QLD way.
James
Guest
That half time stat of 18/18 and 18/19 completed sets was incredible.
Fish
Guest
Queensland missed both Thurston and Slater. Boyd is a fine fullback and Cronk a champion half, but they both lack that unpredictability. Milford has it but he was crippled by an underperforming pack and in my opinion was dubiously hooked for the game by the independent quack. I reckon he may of passed the HIA but once Dr. God plays his hand that is all she wrote. With Milf gone and a flat forward pack the writing was on the wall. I have debated greatly the Thurston v Smith GOAT argument. Last night vindicated my view that Smith is a great front runner but devoid of that pure brilliance to change outcomes of big games that JT has. This is where he falls short in that debate in my opinion. We all got to see what FatFita could do when he left the rubbish out of his game. I once made a comment that he could be the next Big Artie if he cleaned his game up. Long way to go but he should archive this game as his blue print for the future. For mine, Tedesco was MOM. His positional play and goal line defence left QLD with nothing to look for. Fafita was great, and Peats stoic in the middle, but Tedesco owned Suncorp last night. QLD will be better next game but that time we have all seen coming has finally arrived. Rebuild.
Alex
Guest
Were they that bad though? Aside from the one Gagai took in the in-goal to get a 7 tackle set all were high and long down to corey oates. To me Oates is the least dangerous of the QLD back three on kick returns and in the open field, his real danger is cross-field kicks in the red-zone. The kicking did give the chase enough time to chase as well. They weren't spectacular but they did the necessary job.
andrew
Guest
And as for the try Hayne scored - was it the toughest try of the night, no. Maloney and Graham's hands were great as you said, but I am pretty sure you don't have the acceleration off the mark to even get within 10 metres of the line in that situation. His speed and ability to pass, kept Gagai away and O'Neil was obviously a turnstile at that point. So give the guy some credit. He actually played well last night. And no. James Roberts is not as good a defender and no where near as good in attack as Jarryd Hayne. Please? Roberts doesn't push players off and pop passes, he doesn't threaten with speed, strength and ball play.
andrew
Guest
Paul, you lost me when you want to give Vaultin a wrap as a commentator (although he wasn't too bad last night to be fair - although he was giving Myles huge wraps for some reason...). Watch the game again. Yes Hayne wasn't perfect in defence, but it was Maloney that was the problem in the first half. When QLD had a big right line set, Maloney got nervous (not having his usual defensive partner in Graham inside him) and he squeezed in close to his backrower. This dragged Hayne in. When Gillett ran through Maloney with Hayne on the outside once early, Hayne got tighter again resulting in them getting beaten on the outside a couple of times. Fast forward to the second half, Graham defends inside Maloney. This helped Maloney pick how far and fast to move up. Graham is an outstanding defender week in week out protecting Maloney, and when Maloney settled in the second half, Hayne held is areas better and QLD were no threat.
The Barry
Roar Guru
You risk a seven tackle set by putting it on the line. Whether we like it or not, it was clearly a NSW tactic and in that regard if not his short kicking game, Pearce's execution was close to perfect. It wasn't about scoring points, it was about punning Queensland down, playing for field position and limiting Oates' best and most dangerous asset. And it worked.
Even Further North
Guest
He should be in game 2 because he didn't do anything to really get himself excluded. However I don't think he was as good as some people are suggesting. He was, at best, a 5/10 for mine. His attacking kicks were woeful.
Steve
Guest
No no no pick n stick its the QLD way
Steve
Guest
C'Mon QLD pick n stick