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BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Queensland beat New South Wales 34-24 Wednesday to clinch a sixth consecutive rugby league interstate series and send skipper Darren Lockyer into State-of-Origin retirement with a classic Maroons victory.
The Queenslanders twice jumped out to big leads, scoring four first-half tries and leading 24-0 until the Blues crossed twice in the four minutes before the break to close the margin to 14 points.
After 25 scoreless minutes in the second half, the Queenslanders again went out to a 20-point lead with two quick tries before New South Wales cut the deficit with some desperate attack in the last nine minutes.
Greg Inglis scored a try in each half in a match where Queensland dominated possession and field position and New South Wales was always playing catch up.
With the series locked at 1-1 going into the decider, and with long-serving five-eighth Lockyer having already announced it would be his last series, the stadium was at capacity with 52,500 fans — almost entirely cheering for the hometown Maroons.
Inglis scored the opening try in the 16th minute after brilliant leadup work by fullback Billy Slater, who spun out of one tackle and unloaded amid two otherst. Johnathan Thurston grubbered ahead from the quarterline for Inglis, who picked up a perfectly weighted kick and dived into the left corner in a desperate cover tackle.
Slater gave a short ball to Sam Thaiday steaming into a gap on the quarterline and he charged over beside the posts in the 25th minute to make it 10-0. Hooker Cameron Smith burrowed over from dummyhalf in the 31st after a quick play of the ball from Inglis, capping an 80-meter attacking raid from the Queenslanders started by Lockyer.
Lockyer was involved again in the next, putting in a wobbly kick which hit New South Wales fullback Anthony Minichiello in the knee and allowing Jharal Yow Yeah to swoop on the rebound, toeing the ball forward and diving onto it in goal.
Thurston landed his fourth conversion from four attempts to make it 24-0.
The first Blues points came against the run of play in the 37th, started with inside-outside passing between Jamie Soward and Paul Gallen. Soward's kick forward was smothered but four Queenslanders dropped the ball as it slid down field and Minichiello crashed over.
Winger Akuila Uate stepped inside the cover defense and crossed in the right corner after line-ball pass from Mark Gasnier in the last play before half time, closing the gap to 14 points at the break.
New South Wales were in control for a rare period just after the break and seemed to gain the upper hand when Maroons playmaker Thurston was carried from the field after hyper-extending his left knee attempting a tackle in the 59th.
But it was the Queenslanders who rallied, with Slater splitting the defense with an angled run from a perfect inside pass from Thaiday in the 65th and Ingish crashing over amid three tacklers four minutes later.
New South Wales was awarded a rare eight-point try when Hayne scored in the 71st and Smith slid into him, knees first. Soward landed both conversions. Greg Bird scored a late consolation try and Soward converted to make the final scoreline appear closer than the it was.
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The Queenslanders twice jumped out to big leads, scoring four first-half tries and leading 24-0 until the Blues crossed twice in the four minutes before the break to close the margin to 14 points.
After 25 scoreless minutes in the second half, the Queenslanders again went out to a 20-point lead with two quick tries before New South Wales cut the deficit with some desperate attack in the last nine minutes.
Greg Inglis scored a try in each half in a match where Queensland dominated possession and field position and New South Wales was always playing catch up.
With the series locked at 1-1 going into the decider, and with long-serving five-eighth Lockyer having already announced it would be his last series, the stadium was at capacity with 52,500 fans — almost entirely cheering for the hometown Maroons.
Inglis scored the opening try in the 16th minute after brilliant leadup work by fullback Billy Slater, who spun out of one tackle and unloaded amid two otherst. Johnathan Thurston grubbered ahead from the quarterline for Inglis, who picked up a perfectly weighted kick and dived into the left corner in a desperate cover tackle.
Slater gave a short ball to Sam Thaiday steaming into a gap on the quarterline and he charged over beside the posts in the 25th minute to make it 10-0. Hooker Cameron Smith burrowed over from dummyhalf in the 31st after a quick play of the ball from Inglis, capping an 80-meter attacking raid from the Queenslanders started by Lockyer.
Lockyer was involved again in the next, putting in a wobbly kick which hit New South Wales fullback Anthony Minichiello in the knee and allowing Jharal Yow Yeah to swoop on the rebound, toeing the ball forward and diving onto it in goal.
Thurston landed his fourth conversion from four attempts to make it 24-0.
The first Blues points came against the run of play in the 37th, started with inside-outside passing between Jamie Soward and Paul Gallen. Soward's kick forward was smothered but four Queenslanders dropped the ball as it slid down field and Minichiello crashed over.
Winger Akuila Uate stepped inside the cover defense and crossed in the right corner after line-ball pass from Mark Gasnier in the last play before half time, closing the gap to 14 points at the break.
New South Wales were in control for a rare period just after the break and seemed to gain the upper hand when Maroons playmaker Thurston was carried from the field after hyper-extending his left knee attempting a tackle in the 59th.
But it was the Queenslanders who rallied, with Slater splitting the defense with an angled run from a perfect inside pass from Thaiday in the 65th and Ingish crashing over amid three tacklers four minutes later.
New South Wales was awarded a rare eight-point try when Hayne scored in the 71st and Smith slid into him, knees first. Soward landed both conversions. Greg Bird scored a late consolation try and Soward converted to make the final scoreline appear closer than the it was.
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