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What a game. What a decider. Queensland started hard, looked a little wobbly then pulled away for a 22-12 win bathing in that classic Queensland Origin atmosphere. Here’s how your 2022 State of Origin winners played.
1. Kalyn Ponga: Brilliant again at fullback. Everything good Queensland did had something to do with him. A fitting end to his fantastic series with 299 metres, a decisive try and 18 tackle breaks, if you can believe that. Score: 9.5/10.
2. Selwyn Cobbo: Knocked into next year by the hip of team mate Pat Carrigan and was gone in the second minute. Hopefully he makes a full recovery, because it looked savage. Score: N/A.
3. Valentine Holmes: Made an unbelievable play to retrieve a short dropout with 11 to go, which may well have saved Queensland’s skin. He lifted immensely when the team needed him. Score: 7/10.
4. Dane Gagai: Binned for fighting Matt Burton but did his job, which is all you could have asked after the problems he had handling the Blues in Perth. Score: 5/10.
5. Corey Oates: Hardly touched the ball in the first 40, but made critical tough metres to get the Maroons out of their own half in the second. Score: 7/10.
6. Tom Dearden: Magnificent in his Origin debut. A nifty piece of work to send Holmes over for the first try, and was giving it everything in attack and defence all night. Score: 8/10.
7. Daly Cherry-Evans: His game silenced all doubters. A massive second half, owning the field by kicking the New South Wales backs around again and again, and taking on the line to cause havoc. Score: 9/10.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
8. Lindsay Collins: Another victim of a head knock, taking a huge blow as he tried to tackle his clubmate Daniel Tupou. Was gone inside four minutes. Score: N/A.
9. Ben Hunt: His runaway try to seal the series will be replayed over and over for decades, capping another influential game as starting hooker. Score: 8.5/10.
10. Josh Papalii: With Collins going down, still only played 33 minutes but remained a constant attacking threat. Score: 6/10.
11. Kurt Capewell: Strong work down the right edge was rewarded with a try just on halftime. Score: 7/10.
12. Jeremiah Nanai: Was targeted by the Blues but acquitted himself well after some early defensive issues. Also caused problems for the Blues in attack. Score: 7/10.
16. Patrick Carrigan: Awarded the Wally Lewis medal as Queensland’s best player for the series and justified it with another barnstormer here. Ran 130 metres and made a game high 45 tackles. He’ll play Origin forever. Score: 8.5/10.
Interchange
13. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui: A post contact beast and 33 tackles without a miss capped a mighty series. Placed on report for a high shot on Matt Burton. Score: 7.5/10.
14. Harry Grant: Again brought nous, energy and a little luck to Queensland’s attack, especially on the play on halftime for Capewell’s try. New South Wales had no idea how to handle him. Score: 8.5/10.
15. Jai Arrow: Came on 5 minutes into the second half to sure up Queensland’s edge, his 26 tackles without a miss was just what was needed as the Maroons walked a one score tightrope across the second half. Score: 7/10.
17. Tom Gilbert: Called into action early after Collins’ head knock and showed he can be relied upon on the big stage. A good swap for Felise Kafusi’s workload with little ball, but great defence and 36 tackles. Score: 7/10.