Maroons dominated in all areas by ruthless Blues
Joel Gould |
Queensland have been dominated in the middle, outclassed in the backs and beaten between the ears on a tough night at Suncorp Stadium.
The so-called “18th player”, the hostile Brisbane crowd, was silenced by a Blues side that had run for 877m to 543m by halftime to hold a 14-2 lead.
The Maroons were better in the second half of the State of Origin series opener but the damage had been done.
Queensland have never won the last two games of a series away from home after losing the opening match in Brisbane. That is what they now must do after their 18-6 loss on Wednesday night.
There will be the temptation to make changes, notably in the pack where the fire and brimstone of Canberra prop Corey Horsburgh would add starch to a forward pack that was on the back foot for most of the match.
The Maroons missed 48 tackles compared to just 21 by NSW in a glaring example of the difference between the two teams.
Queensland needed to be disciplined early on but they were not and gave away daft penalties.
The Maroons pack wanted to dominate from the get-go but they lacked punch. Middles Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, Moeaki Fotuaika and Pat Carrigan were out-muscled by counterparts Mitch Barnett, Payne Haas and Isaah Yeo.
It was class in the big moments that told the tale.
Queensland’s last tackle options were not up to scratch with hooker Harry Grant making some poor decisions.
The Blues had all the answers with centres Latrell Mitchell and Stephen Crichton throwing brilliant final passes to set up tries.
Queensland did not deliver those high-class plays when needed.
There was a moment in the second half that summed up what the Maroons were after.
Back-rower Jeremiah Nanai, who had been dropped earlier in the season for defensive frailties, smashed Mitchell under the ribs to dislodge the ball which led to a Xavier Coates try.
Coates was outstanding in the air and it was his high leap that forced opposite number Brian To’o to commit a professional foul and be sin-binned on the cusp of halftime.
A major bright spot for Queensland was the debut of 20-year-old centre Robert Toia who more than held his own marking Mitchell.
Toia threw a trademark one-handed offload for the Coates try and looks set to play many Origin games in future.
The margin flattered the Maroons with NSW scoring four tries to one.
AAP
