The New South Wales Blues have taken Game 1 of the State of Origin series, defeating the Queensland Maroons by ten points.
After leading by two at halftime, the Blues managed to hang on, taking victory with tries to Tom Trbojevic and Josh Addo-Carr in the last half hour sealing the deal for the team with 11 debutants.
Fulltime score
New South Wales Blues 22
Queensland Maroons 12
More State of Origin 1
» Six talking points from New South Wales’ Game 1 victory
» NSW WIN! Baby Blues too good for Queensland at the MCG
» WATCH: Josh Addo-Carr scores an unbelievably good try to seal the result
» WATCH: Tom Trbojevic’s superb high-flying try
One of the most highly-anticipated State of Origin series in recent memory gets underway at the MCG tonight, with the New South Wales Blues and Queensland Maroons resuming Australia’s biggest sporting rivalry. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 8pm (AEST).
The intrigue around this series has been enormous, with both states turning a new page and entering a different era.
The Blues, under new coach Brad Fittler, will have 11 debutants playing. It brings with it a huge risk of inexperience, but a fresh opportunity for a state which has lost 11 of the last 12 series.
On the other side of the coin, the Maroons have a new captain and none of their big four. Johnathan Thurston, Cooper Cronk and Cameron Smith have all drifted into representative retirement, but the shock of Billy Slater missing out came at the eleventh hour.
Just two days out from kick-off, the superstar fullback was withdrawn from the match due to injury, with Michael Morgan set to replace him at fullback. Greg Inglis is the man taking over from Smith as captain of the Queenslanders.
Coach Kevin Walters could yet have a greater juggling act on his hands, with the deck chairs potentially needing to be shifted if Dane Gagai isn’t fit to play after the utility back suffered a compound dislocation of his finger during the captains run yesterday.
Still, the Maroons have bigger issues to face than injuries.
On paper, their forward pack could well be monstered. With Matt Scott overlooked due to poor form and an out of sorts Dylan Napa, who has only averaged 70 metres per game this year, playing the role of enforcer, the Blues could have their number up front.
Reagan Campbell-Gillard and a barnstorming David Klemmer, who has been a tackle-breaking machine in 2018, will lead the charge, with Paul Vaughan set to make his debut off the bench.
Vaughan is joined by Dragons teammate Jack de Belin, while Jake Trbojevic has been shuffled back to the bench. Boyd Cordner and Tyson Frizell will also be hoping to have their way in the second row with Gavin Cooper and Felise Kaufusi.
The real battle though will be at hooker. X-Factor Damien Cook is one of the NRL’s form players and will be expected to play most of the 80 minutes for the Blues, while Andrew McCullough will be at his usual defensive best for the Maroons.
If Cook and the forwards can spark a platform, then life will be a lot easier for James Maloney and Nathan Cleary, who will then take pleasure in setting up the aggressive backline players like Latrell Mitchell, James Roberts and the competition’s equal leading try-scorer in Josh Addo-Carr.
There have been three Origins at the MCG, with the Blues winning two of them.
Prediction
The Blues should be too strong here. Their forward pack is simply too good and while there are issues on the edges in defence, they will run over the top for the win.
Blues by 4.
Be sure to join The Roar for State of Origin live scores, commentary and highlights for Game 1 from 8pm (AEST) and don’t forget to drop a comment in the section below.
steveng
Roar Rookie
Yeah, as Cook said, he lost 4 ribs at the 20m line and he'll go back and get them, later on. That was a dog act by Chambers, his knee got Cookie right in his ribs, that was intentional and should be stamped right out of the game!
The Barry
Roar Guru
Lose one game and the Queenslanders are already calling the death of origin
The Barry
Roar Guru
Yeah...Chambers raised the knee into the tackle and hit Cook in the ribs. Pretty low. He had a shocker. 10 missed tackles and some poor decisions.
Kevin Storch
Guest
Which state had the status of the home tam last night . Roar page says QLD but others say NSW. Just have an issue regarding payout on double as to was the home team and who was the away team. Want to make sure we pay correctly.
DP Schaefer
Guest
Bruce - true, Crichton got away with a lot of interference. I hope he brings more to the next game than that.
Emcie
Roar Guru
Really? Cook was the defender in that tackle though
Wolly
Roar Guru
Pretty sure he raised a knee early in the game and got away with it.
Emcie
Roar Guru
No worries, though you were talking about TPJ at first cos he made a big deal about aligning with Tonga. Joe was one of several "extra" players in camp (emerging squad stuff I think) which was also why Milford was on hand to slip into the team
Scott Pryde
Expert
That shot on Cook. I didn't actually see it at the time as I was falling behind with the game, but it wasn't great from what I heard. Certainly left Cook in a pretty bad way.
Emcie
Roar Guru
For what?
Scott Pryde
Expert
Right, I didn't know that. As I said, not saying he isn't eligible I just knew he had played for Tonga previously. Cheers for the heads up Emcie.
JD St George
Roar Pro
How many weeks is he facing?
Wolly
Roar Guru
Doesn’t that just show NSW were good enough to take advantage of the forward passes they threw and QLD weren’t? ?
Emcie
Roar Guru
I'd have DCE or Taylor ahead of Hunt, some one who actually knows how to run a team. It probably sounds like I don't like Hunt which isn't true, I just don't like him in the role of a dominant half.
Scott Pryde
Expert
UPDATE: Will Chambers has been charged with a Grade 1 dangerous contact charge.
Emcie
Roar Guru
Pretty sure he gets a say in who he plays for. Dunno if you know this Scott but Joe was in camp with the Maroons this week
Wolly
Roar Guru
I think NSW played extremely well considering the number of debutants they fielded. Error count satisfyingly low. Thought we were done when Roberts rushed but surprisingly Queensland didn’t capitalise. NSW would have done well to get to 22 points during the Gallen-Farah-Bird era and to see a team with so many new faces get it done first time out is awesome.
Joe
Roar Rookie
I said it was a pretty good game, nothing to do with Gould as I tuned out the commentary. Not sure what your issue is. Game had very little errors, was an arm wrestle with great defense and some good tries. Definitely a level above most NRL games in terms of entertainment value. Maybe it wasn't to your liking but to each his own.
Rob
Guest
The funny thing is it was 4-1 in the penalties and a poor call on the Crichton no strip. I have watched games all year and the video ref have never come in and changed the ref's call on a drop out or 20m restart? The Cowboys lost a game and the ball was blatantly put dead and everyone new it. They refused to over rule? Tonight they were happy to over rule a 50/50 call. Ado Carr hit it dead out of Gagai's hands. The blues got the better of the calls tonight but that's alright they whinge if they don't.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Where do you get that leadership? Munster is a great player but he very much plays what’s in front of him rather than leading a tram around the paddock, So does Hunt. Do you bring Morgan into the 7 when Slaters back? DCE?