An extremely physical first half of the deciding match in the 2024 State of Origin series has seen the two teams head into the dressing rooms at Suncorp Stadium with Queensland taking a 2-0 lead on the back of a late penalty goal.
The game has been played at a rapid pace since the opening exchanges, with referee Ashley Klein struggling to keep control of the warring states.
Physicality in every run and tackle was the headline coming out of the first 20 minutes, with both sides giving everything and then some.
There were few scoring opportunities for either side despite the unbelievable pace of the game. New South Wales seemed to hold the ascendancy for a large chunk of the first half, but couldn't find a way to breach the Queensland defence.
Opportunities being few and far between continued to rise the tension of the contest in the middle third, with it eventually spilling over as the two teams came together in an aggressive push and shove.
Jarome Luai and Daly Cherry-Evans sparked it as they went after a loose ball. Jeremiah Nanai, as the third man in, was sent to the sin bin, while Cameron Murray, who was on the bench at the time, was also given his marching orders, forcing the Blues to take Mitch Barnett from the park and play with 12.
The last ten minutes of the first half were played as 12-on-12, but neither team could find their way over the line. The Blues dominated much of the period, before Queensland had a late chance. Daly Cherry-Evans would kick through the line with 40 seconds left, but was taken out off the ball by Spencer Leniu, enabling Valentine Holmes to slot a penalty goal after the halftime siren.
Despite the physicality, only Angus Crichton and Ben Hunt had any injury issues to worry about. Crichton returned from an early head injury assessment, while Hunt was off at halftime with the same problem, currently undergoing the test.
Match summary
Queensland Maroons 2 (Tries: Nil; Conversions: Nil; Penalty Goals: Valentine Holmes 1/1) draw New South Wales Blues 0 (Tries: Nil; Conversions: Nil)
