NSW 14-24 Queensland
Cameron Smith scored a late match-winning try to ensure that Queensland Maroons won the State of Origin series, a trophy they have now lifted consecutively four times in a row.
The hooker was on hand to ground the ball after a high kick was spilled by New South Wales.
The game should ideally have been wrapped up earlier than the 79th minute after a calamitous first half from New South Wales, but the Blues perservered and produced a significantly better second-half performance to ensure the game went all the way to the final whistle.
Queensland scored first thanks to Greg Inglis, powering onto a short pass at speed to cross in just the sixth minute of the game. Johnathan Thurston converted.
Eight minutes later and the Maroons were over the whitewash again, a mistake by Peter Wallace capitalised on by Israel Folau, who burst through some poor tackling to score and increase the lead to 12-0.
New South Wales failed to find any rhythm and were poor with ball in hand, and yet another mistake resulted in them conceding a third try. The ball went to ground eight metres out and mecurial half-back Darren Lockyer swooped on the loose ball to pick-up and dive over.
But the Blues did get back into it when another sweeping attack from the Maroons was snuffed out by Jarryd Hayne, who intercepted and ran 90 metres to score.
Queensland continued to dominate, but it was the Blues who scored against the run of play a minute prior to the half-time interval, Hayne grabbing his second from dummy-half to reduce the deficit.
Their get-out clause was fully enacted in the second half as the Maroons stuggled to recreate their first-half pressure and the Blues managed to reduce the deficit once more thanks to David Williams.
But Smith’s late try – once again a result of some comedic errors – gave the Maroons the series and a 24-14 victory.
New South Wales 14
T: Hayne (28, 39), Williams (64)
G: Gidley (28)
Queensland 24
T:Inglis (6), Folau (17), Lockyer (24), Smith (79)
G:Thurston (7, 17, 24, 79)
HT: 10-18
