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The NSW Blues have raced out to a commanding 18-4 lead in Game 2 of State of Origin.
There was controversy in the early going, with Queensland five-eighth Cameron Munster heading off early for head injury assessment – which he would later fail – after his head hit the turf very hard from what looked to be a clear midair tackle by Tyson Frizell that went unpunished by referee Gerard Sutton.
But the Maroons were undeterred and started the game the better of the two sides, threatening the Blues line early. Josh Papalii lost the ball going close early in the piece, but Xavier Coates crossed in the seventh minute with a spectacular dive to the corner – avoiding the corner post by a coat of paint.
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The Blues were frustrated early, giving away a fair few penalties inside the first 15 minutes to gift the Maroons territory and extra sets – but they turned it around before the 20-minute mark to take the lead.
Nathan Cleary got the Blues close to the line with a great line break, before a superb spin move by Cody Walker saw him bust through the remaining defence to score. Cleary had no issues with the conversion to put NSW up. The Blues then put their foot on the pedal, with James Tedesco breezing through some ordinary Queensland defence to help make it 12-4.
The Blues spent most of the rest of the half in Queensland’s half of the ground, threatening to score – thanks to a blistering first half by Cleary. They broke through late, with a Coates knock-on gifting the Blues another set close to the line and they cashed in – Josh Addo-Carr stepped around Phillip Sami and Ben Hunt on the right edge to cross for NSW’s third.
Munster’s succumbing to a concussion wasn’t the only injury concern in the first half, with Tyson Frizell also coming off for a head injury assessment and Coates appearing to be badly winded after coming off second best in a contest.
NSW Blues – 18
Queensland Maroons – 4
Tries
Blues: Walker (16′), Tedesco (22′), Addo-Carr (39′)
Maroons: Coates (7′)
Goals
Blues: Cleary 3/3 (18′, 23′, 39′)
Maroons: Holmes 0/1
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