The NSW Blues have rallied to overcome a 20-0 deficit to defeat the Queensland Maroons 22-20 in game of the 2026 State of Origin series.
NSW appeared to forget how to play rugby league in the opening 20 minutes. Countless errors and lazy defence gave Queensland a licence to punish the Blues, racing to a staggering 20-0 lead.
Queensland opened the scoring after 10 minutes when Sam Walker combined with his Roosters teammate Robert Toia. A perfectly timed grubber kick from Walker, coupled with Toia’s speed, proved too much for the NSW defence.
The Maroons’ 6-0 lead quickly became 12-0 when Dolphins prop Tom Flegler crashed over under the posts. The try came off the back of a line break orchestrated by fellow Dolphins teammates Selwyn Cobbo and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow. From there, Harry Grant darted from dummy-half and delivered a flick pass to Flegler, who finished the movement.
The Blues’ nightmare start worsened when Tabuai-Fidow crossed for Queensland’s third try. This time, Cameron Munster put through a grubber kick and Tabuai-Fidow simply strolled past some lazy NSW defenders to score.
Walker then slotted a two-point penalty goal to extend Queensland’s lead to 20-0.
Queensland finally made their first error of the match in the 25th minute when Munster spilled the ball following a bone-rattling tackle from Ethan Strange.
NSW capitalised immediately, marching the length of the field to score their first try and finally stop the bleeding.
Penrith halfback Nathan Cleary put a kick through the defensive line for Hudson Young, who did brilliantly to gather the ball and score in the wet conditions.
Despite trailing 20-6 at halftime, the scoreline hardly reflected Queensland’s dominance throughout the opening 40 minutes.
The turning point came in the 57th minute when Queensland fullback Kalyn Ponga was sent off after referee Ashley Klein ruled he had shoulder-charged Blues winger Toluta’u Koula in the head. The Bunker had initially recommended a sin bin, ruling the incident a head clash, but Klein ultimately overruled that decision and issued a send-off.
With a man down, the Maroons began to panic, allowing NSW back into the contest.
The Blues looked to have scored almost immediately through debutant Ethan Strange, only for the Bunker to penalise Haumole Olakau’atu for obstruction.
Strange was denied once, but not twice.
The debutant combined brilliantly with Stephen Crichton, with the pair racing the length of the field. Crichton burst through two Maroon’s defenders and then drew in two defenders before returning the ball to Strange, who crossed for a memorable try on debut.
Suddenly, what had been a 20-0 deficit was reduced to just 20-10.
In big moments, you need big players, and Nathan Cleary delivered.
The Blues halfback produced a pinpoint 40/20 kick to hand NSW prime field position. On the very next set, Cleary sliced through the Maroons’ defence himself to bring the Blues within four points.
The winning moment came in the final minute of the match, once again off the boot of Cleary.
The NSW playmaker launched a towering kick towards the left of the goalposts. James Tedesco chased hard and soared above Queensland’s Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow to contest the ball. The rugby league gods smiled on the veteran fullback as Tedesco came down with possession to score the match-winning try.
Game Two will be played in Melbourne on 17 June, with NSW taking a 1-0 lead in the series.
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