Match Report – Queensland 22 – 12 NSW

Valentine Holmes, Kurt Capewell, Kalyn Ponga and Ben Hunt all crossed to secure this year’s State of Origin for the Maroons with victory at Suncorp Stadium; An epic encounter saw Dane Gagai and Matt Burton sin-binned following an all-brawl too

Ben Hunt celebrates his game-clinching try as Queensland won this year’s State of Origin series

Ben Hunt’s interception try two minutes from time proved enough to clinch this year’s State of Origin for Queensland with a breathless 22-12 win over New South Wales at Suncorp Stadium.

Valentine Holmes’ try and conversion put the Maroons into the lead after a bruising opening quarter of an hour, but the Blues rallied to lead through converted scores from Jarome Luai and debutant Jacob Saifiti.

Kurt Capewell brought Queensland to within two points at half-time thanks to an unconverted try and the game exploded early in the second half with a mass brawl which saw both teams down to 12 temporarily following sin-binnings for Dane Gagai and Matt Burton.

The Maroons were able to slowly turn the screw in the second half on the back of skipper Daly Cherry-Evans’ superb kicking game though, with Kalyn Ponga’s first Origin try restoring their lead before Hunt’s score in the closing stages.

More to follow…