The New South Wales Blues have fallen short in the State of Origin decider, going down by ten points to the Queensland Maroons in Brisbane.
Here are the player ratings.
1. James Tedesco - 9/10
Tedesco has been the constant force for the Blues in this Origin series. He was their best in Game 1, was again in Game 2, and did it again last night.
285 metres, 6 tackle breaks, a couple of offloads, always around the ball. He just never stopped trying.
2. Brian To'o - 6
To'o worked hard with the ball in hand but didn't get a lot of space, particularly in the second half. Only ran 136 metres despite six tackle breaks, which really goes to show what an excellent job the Maroons did in shutting him down.
3. Matt Burton - 5
Burton has gone from one of the all-time great Origin debuts to a really average performance in his second outing for the Blues. A couple of missed tackles, ten minutes in the sin bin and only 3 runs for 23 metres.
Didn't have a lot going for him except a towering bomb which left the commentators wondering if it was in fact heading into orbit.
4. Stephen Crichton - 3.5
Crichton was one of the more baffling selections given the return of Jack Wighton, and the doubters were proven right. Will be remembered for a howling pass which led to a repeat set for Queensland and Kalyn Ponga's try on the back of it. Had some decent runs which stops his score from being even lower.
5. Daniel Tupou - 4.5
Tupou struggled to be at his usual safe best. Two horrid errors - one which led directly to the Kurt Capewell try before halftime, to go with a handful of missed tackles. Worked hard with the ball in hand for 145 metres, but didn't have a good night overall.
6. Jarome Luai - 5.5
A terrible ball over the sideline and equally shocking tackle attempt on Kalyn Ponga who waltzed through to score might be the lowlights for Luai, but a solid first half and some creativity with the ball in hand stops him from being ranked among the worst.
7. Nathan Cleary - 6
Worked hard all night trying to make it happen, but just couldn't. Didn't adapt at all well with his kicking game to the difficult situation the Blues faced and, despite a lot of run metres, should have found a way to spark more points in the opening stanza when the Blues had all the downhill running.
10. Jake Trbojevic - 6
Trbojevic was solid, but didn't have anything on the game he played upon being recalled in Perth. His running game was well short of where it needed to be, although 44 tackles for a single miss on a difficult night in the defensive line is a quality effort.
9. Apisai Koroisau - 6.5
Koroisau was strong for the 53 minutes he spent on the field, providing effective service out of dummy half, a bit of creativity and 30 tackles.
16. Junior Paulo - 7
Paulo was among the Blues' best in the middle third. 121 metres from 13 carries, a trio of tackle breaks and looked very threatening at times. Not his best game, but still showed plenty as the Blues tried time and time again to breach the Maroons.
11. Cameorn Murray - N/A
Knocked out in the Blues first defensive tackle of the game.
12. Liam Martin - 5
Martin played 80 minutes and did a lot of defensive work, but missed four tackles and only made 50 metres. After a poor showing in Game 1 playing big minutes, it has to be asked whether his best position in Origin might be coming off the bench, where he provides plenty of versatility as either an edge or middle forward.
13. Isaah Yeo - 6
Struggled to spark the Blues' attack as he does so well and so consistently at Penrith. No breakthrough with his running game either, making just 68 metres, but 42 tackles was a strong performance at the other end of the park.
8. Jacob Saifiti - 7
Saifiti seemed to flip the momentum of the game when he came on, putting the Blues on the front foot for a period with 137 metres from 13 runs his ultimate finishing stat line, to go with five tackle breaks, a line break and a try.
Did nothing but tackle during the second half, as did all the Blues.
14. Damien Cook - 5
Cook was injected into the game and failed to have an influence, but the Blues were so badly on the back foot that it was difficult for anyone to do anything at that stage. Made 27 tackles in 27 minutes, to show exactly how much time he had with the ball in hand.
15. Angus Crichton - 6
Crichton played a real toiling style of game for the Blues, making 128 metres and 31 tackles in an effort which saw him play many more minutes than he was supposed to after Murray's injury.
17. Siosifa Talakai - 3
Talakai made two missed tackles and two errors in just 23 minutes, with the errors coming in crucial times and spots for the Blues. Had one big defensive play, but three runs when the backs were to the wall and he had fresh legs wasn't good enough either.
Total - 90.5/160*
* - One player not scored due to concussions sustained within the first five minutes.
