Key events
CONVERTED TRY! Queensland 20-6 NSW (Munster, 31)
Off the back of the kick Queensland enjoy a couple of strong hit-ups from Mann and Carrigan, then the Melbourne Storm spine gets to work. Grant is sharp from dummy-half, spotting some space to zip into, he draws the line to the left opening a pocket to his right for Munster to burst into and haul himself over the line! Excellent sleight of hand try from the Maroons just to the right of the posts.
Holmes makes it 4/4 from point-blank. Queensland are in dreamland!
30 mins: Collins, Mann, and Carrigan are all on the field for Queensland now with Loiero undergoing an HIA following that clash with Lomax. Another decision goes their way with a Cotter loose carry quickly saved by an inside-10m offside call. Dearden kicks to attacking territory.
GOAL! Queensland 14-6 NSW (Holmes, 29)
30m out, bang in front, Holmes makes it 3/3 and the Maroons extend their lead to eight points. After that poor start Queensland have been the better side for the past 20 minutes.
28 mins: This is chaotic. NSW drive unconvincingly downfield then kick on the last for Lomax to bat back 30m out. Then Luai jabs another kick forward – this is like AFL! Queensland realise these conditions are not conducive to ball handling so Munster kicks on tackle three and almost secures a 40-20. Edwards runs it safely infield, then Lomax has a go, but after he’s tackled the Eel swings an elbow back into the face of Loiero and concedes a kickable penalty!
26 mins: Almost! Carrigan is again important leading his side downfield. Munster kicks dangerously on the last, high to the left corner. Coates wins the leap, pats the ball backwards, and in broken field the Maroons have an overlap on the right if they can find it… they can’t! Toia grasses a difficult pass as the chaos overcomes him. That was almost a third try of the half.
24 mins: A couple of carries from the sub Carrigan helps Queensland beyond halfway. Dearden shows and goes, then Coates kicks neatly to force Edwards to smother the ball just in front of his own line. This is better from the Maroons. NSW grind out of their red zone then kick miles to establish territorial parity.
22 mins: Now Haas knocks on! To be fair, the pass from Cleary was just behind the big prop, but it continues NSW’s ragged spell. To compound matters Luai is placed on report for getting involved with a Queenslander on the ground.
There are spot-fires threatening to burst into the open all over the place. Ponga and Luai have a stand off. Martin has been fired up. Now Crichton clotheslines Toia and Dearden can kick to halfway.
21 mins: Fotuaika spills the first carry of the restart! NSW have a set 20m out.
CONVERTED TRY! Queensland 12-6 NSW (Tabuai-Fidow, 20)
The Hammer has two! After all the midfield chaos Queensland finally mount an attack. Capewell is imposing setting up field position for a kick, which is executed superbly by Dearden. Tabuai-Fidow gets a run and a jump on the smaller To’o, plucks the ball out of the sky, lands safely, wriggles the right way up and touches down for four more points.
Holmes makes it two superb touchline conversions in a row!
18 mins: Liam Martin! BOSH! The Blues don’t dwell on their misfortune as the Panther executes a magnificent tackle up and into the ribcage of Tino, dislodging the ball and earning 12 backslaps, and the right to mouth off at his Queensland foes.
Valentime Holmes! BOSH! Martin quickly gets a taste of his own medicine, crunched by Holmes and the ball spills free again! This is pinball in wet conditions in Perth.
16 mins: Billy Slater, Darren Lockyer, Cameron Smith, all praising Queensland for their patience in that try-scoring attack. It was notable how Munster, Grant, and especially Dearden were composed constructing their assault on the NSW line. The Maroons get through their restart set safely with Tino and Fotuaika both running strongly. Grant then kicks crossfield to touch with the ball skidding a logn way on the greasy surface. Two tackles into their response NSW cough up possession! The ball went through Edwards’ butter-fingers and hauled in on the deck by A Crichton.
GOAL! Queensland 6-6 NSW (Holmes, 14)
Superb touchline conversion from the right by Holmes to bring the scores level.
TRY! Queensland 4-6 NSW (Tabuai-Fidow, 12)
Tino and Cotter make decent inroads into the NSW half. Munster and Dearden link well. Then there’s a ruck penalty and Queensland have a full set 10m out. Fotuaika has a hit up, Munster tries to dance through, and he buys another six-again. The ball heads to the left through Ponga but Holmes is held up. Now the Maroons go to the right through Grant – and there’s another six-again! Capewell draws in defenders on the left edge. Munster almost feeds Tino under the crossbar. How are the Blues holding their line? Answer: they’re not! Dearden does well taking the ball to the line, feinting to pass to Cotter. Instead he picks out Toia who times his assist to Tabuai-Fidow to perfection and the Origin specialist dives over in the corner!
10 mins: NSW only reach their own 40m line with the restart set, thanks in part to a big Capewell hit on Haas. The big Bronco then concedes a needless penalty for laying on the ball-carrier too long on the ground after a tackle of his own.
9 mins: This is exactly what Queensland could not afford. Errors in attack, indiscipline in defence, and now an early try.
CONVERTED TRY! Queensland 0-6 NSW (To’o, 8)
Martin takes the first tackle inside 10 metres, then the old firm get to work in the halves. Cleary drifts from the centre to the left, teasing the line like a fish nibbling a lure, before offloading to Luai, who dabs a kick through for a three vs two chase. Angus Crichton wins it, stabbing another kick to his left for To’o to pounce on and score the opening points of the night.
Lomax curls over a superb touchline conversion from the left.
6 mins: NSW think they have a turnover on Tino on tackle four as the Maroons try to run out of defence. The on-field ruling is a strip against Cleary, but the Blues immediately challenge the decision and the TMO wastes little time finding in their favour. Another early error for Queensland.
4 mins: It’s Origin 1 all over again. NSW’s pack pounds to the attacking 30 without breaking stride. Cleary bombs under the posts, Lomax chases hard, Ponga spills in the air. A full set 10 metres out almost leads to a try to To’o in the left corner but he’s hauled in. Martin then almost crashes through the middle but he’s stalled by his nemesis Munster – who then can’t resist a nibble after contact and concedes a six-again on tackle five!
NSW go again from under the crossbar. Yeo has a shunt. Where is the space? The Blues try the right, and there’s an overlap – but Crichton spills a hot ball under pressure from Coates jamming in from the touchline.
Queensland survive!
3 mins: Dearden, Grant, and Munster are all busy for Queensland inside the NSW half. Holmes cuts in dangerously from the left, but then on the last it’s another poor kick, this time an overhit grubber from the new captain, and the Blues get seven tackles to clear their lines.
2 mins: All the Blues forwards get a touch during the first set but Queensland defend solidly. Luai surprisingly takes the kick on the last… and he shanks it into touch on the left on the full! Massive early opportunity for the Maroons.
Kick-off!
Origin 2 is under way…
Formalities taken care of, kick-off is imminent. All or nothing for Queensland. Valentine Holmes’s boot will get things rolling.
Out march the Blues onto Optus Stadium, behind their captain Iasaah Yeo. They’re wearing sky blue jerseys and navy shorts.
Now here come the Maroons, led out for the first time by new skipper Cameron Munster. Queensland are top to toe in burgundy.
Judging by the noise of the crowd I’d guess Perth is leaning towards Queensland tonight.
Tonight’s referee is the experienced Ashley Klein.
It is tipping it down in Perth! There has already been some rain today so conditions underfoot will be slippery. Fortunately there’s little wind to speak of.
The coaches have said their final pieces. “We want to get on early in the game,” Slater said. “They’ve worked on a few things throughout the week and it’s been a great preparation, so getting those actions into our game early and then sustaining them for 80 minutes.”
Laurie Daley: “It’s the greatest contest we have, isn’t it, State of Origin. It’s the test of your will and desire and your ability to compete and go to places where you’ve probably never been before. But you’ve got to fight your way out of that, and you’ve got to continue to fight till the end… The way that we’ve prepared, we’ve really built on what we achieved in Game One… We’ve got to front load our energy. We’ve got to be ready to go. And that’s what we’ve spoken about.”
Munster has his first win as Queensland skipper! It’s only the coin toss, but still. The Maroons will kick-off.
The first time the teams played at Optus Stadium the Blues won 38-6 in 2019. The last time, the Blues won 44-12 to level the 2022 series. Home from home.
What does Cameron Munster make of captaining Queensland? “It’s everything. As a kid you always wanted to play for Queensland and I never thought I’d have the opportunity to captain this beautiful team and this beautiful state. So to be able to do that tonight, I’m very proud. I can’t wait to lead them out.” Beautiful.
Nathan Cleary has matter-of-factly explained what NSW are planning to do tonight: “Obviously the kicking game is a big part of it, but just being in the game, aggression in defence, running the ball in attack.”
When you have a squad as strong as the Blues there’s no need to overcomplicate things.
NSW XVII
Necessary changes only from Laurie Daley, namely replacing the injured pair of Mitchell Moses and Mitch Barrett. Jarome Luai’s recall at five-eighth was an easy decision, while Stefano Utoikamanu adds his power to the interchange.
1. Dylan Edwards, 2. Brian To’o, 3. Stephen Crichton, 4. Latrell Mitchell, 5. Zac Lomax , 6. Jarome Luai, 7. Nathan Cleary, 8. Max King, 9. Reece Robson, 10. Payne Haas, 11. Liam Martin, 12. Angus Crichton , 13. Isaah Yeo. Interchange: 14. Connor Watson , 15. Spencer Leniu, 16. Hudson Young, 17. Stefano Utoikamanu.
Queensland XVII
Billy Slater has taken the monumental decision to drop his captain and halfback Daly Cherry-Evans, after one match of the series, and bring in Tom Dearden at first receiver. Up front Kurt Capewell returns to the Origin fold, while Trent Loiero gets his first start. Kurt Mann will debut from an interchange packed full of experience.
1. Kalyn Ponga, 2. Xavier Coates, 3. Robert Toia, 4. Valentine Holmes, 5. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, 6. Cameron Munster ©, 7. Tom Dearden, 8. Moeaki Fotuaika, 9. Harry Grant, 10. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, 11. Reuben Cotter, 12. Kurt Capewell, 13. Trent Loiero. Interchange: 14. Kurt Mann, 15. Lindsay Collins, 16. Jeremiah Nanai, 17. Patrick Carrigan.
For what it’s worth, I don’t think the Maroons have been bold enough, especially with how the extended squad converts into the nominated XVII.
Put simply, if these two groups play out a typical match of NRL quality rugby league I don’t see how NSW don’t win every time. The Blues pack is a couple of weight divisions more powerful, Nathan Cleary is the halfback of his generation, Stephen Crichton is the premium defensive organiser in the game, Zac Lomax is an aerial weapon, Dylan Edwards is indefatigable, the interchange is deep, and if everything is too predictable they can always toss the ball to the sport’s greatest maverick, Latrell Mitchell.
For Queensland to win conventionally, they must perform at their very best, and NSW must slip off considerably in most areas. As a result, I would advocate the throwing of convention out of the window.
Maybe the Maroons could have turned tonight’s clash into a dogfight, especially taking into account the rain? Bring Corey Horsburgh into the starting pack, call up a scrapper like Jai Arrow, and add a chaos agent to the bench like Reed Mahoney or Felise Kaufusi to create a contest full of disruption and spot fires to deny the Blues flow. Are Kurt Capewell and Trent Loiero realistically likely to outperform Payne Haas, Liam Martin, Angus Crichton, and Isaah Yeo? It feels like Slater and his selection panel are pissing into the wind.
Behind the underpowered forwards Slater has gone all-in on Tom Dearden; an excellent footballer, but is he the kind to play lights-out footy and win a match off his own boot? I can’t see it. Queensland need to tear up the script, not try and rewrite it. They could take a punt on the instinctive qualities of Ezra Mam, Jye Gray or Jayden Campbell, or look at Jamal Fogarty or Braydon Trindall as kicking specialists to overcoming the likely territorial deficit. If that sounds like a lot of fullbacks and halves, then get creative with shirt numbers. Harry Grant was well below par in Brisbane, and Valentine Holmes increasingly seems like a legacy selection, not one based on impact, especially if he’s anything other than 100% off the tee.
Throw caution to the wind while the series remains alive rather than experiment in a dead rubber in July.
When the squads for Origin 2 landed they contained the bombshell that Slater had dropped his captain from the opening round, Daly Cherry-Evans, preferring Tom Dearden at scrum-half.
The call to leave Cherry-Evans remains one of the most seismic in recent memory from either state. He has been the Maroons’ first-choice No 7 and captain since 2019, taking Queensland to three series wins, including their incredible 2020 effort.
Jack Snape sets the scene ahead of a defining Origin clash for Billy Slater.
So it’s concern for camp Queensland, and confidence among the Blues: the State of Origin status quo. Apart from the period of the Maroons’ dominance in the 2000s and 2010s, the Queenslanders have spent much of the Origin era as outsiders. They may be preparing for this crucial clash in AFL-loving Western Australia, but spiritually the Maroons are in their natural habitat.
Preamble
Jonathan Howcroft
Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of State of Origin Game 2. Kick-off between Queensland and New South Wales at Optus Stadium is scheduled for 8:05pm AEST (6.05pm AWST).
After selling the peerless quality of Origin footy in the preamble to game one I had the rug pulled from under me during a tepid 80 minutes of representative rugby league. The showpiece was undermined by a desperately poor performance from Queensland who were flattered by the 6-18 scoreline.
NSW deserve enormous credit for their control in all facets of the game at Suncorp Stadium, and they look set for a long period of ascendancy with Payne Haas dominating up front, Nathan Cleary dictating terms in the halves, and Zac Lomax demonstrating that precious ability to elevate his performance to the size of the occasion.
It is going to require an incredible turnaround for Queensland as the Origin caravan decamps in the west, and coach Billy Slater is already in the crosshairs following last year’s limp title defence. Slater has made a statement by putting Daly Cherry-Evans out to pasture, but he has more to worry about than simply who plays first receiver.
After four defeats in their past five outings perhaps the famed Queensland underdog spirit will come to the fore and keep the 2025 series alive? Or maybe it will simply be further confirmation that we are in a golden age of NSW rugby league.