Queensland State of Origin captain Daly Cherry-Evans has taken out man of the match honours in the 2024 series opener.
Cherry-Evans was fantastic in what turned into a big win against a 12-man New South Wales side after Joseph Suaalii was sent off in the early exchanges.
Leading from the front with his kicking game, the Queensland halfback - who has turned up with strong performances time and time again for the Maroons in recent seasons - the captain then came to the fore in the second half with a 40/20 which put the Maroons on the front foot.
He also made a wonderful intercept and set up a late try with a fantastic kick for Xavier Coates, marking his second try assist of the evening.
The halfback would finish the game with (on top of his 2 try assists) 112 metres from just 7 runs, three tackle busts, a line break assist and 442 kicking metres as well as 31 tackles in an almost entirely error-free game for the Queenslander.
The Maroons ultimately ran out 38 points to 10 winners, with the Queenslanders now taking a 1-0 lead into Game 2, which will be held in three weeks time at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, before the series heads to Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium for Game 3.
