Queensland 24 (Tom Dearden 2, Xavier Coates, Harry Grant tries; Valentine Holmes 4/5 goals) def. New South Wales 12
2-1
When the Maroons succumbed to New South Wales in the series opener, the pitchforks were out and the Maroons needed to find a response. Billy Slater made one of the most controversial selections in Origin history when he dropped the Queensland captain Daly Cherry-Evans in favour of a young up-start in Tom Dearden.
Dearden had already made his mark in the Origin arena, doing a fantastic job to fill in for Cameron Munster in the 2022 decider and taking out the Ron McAullife medal in 2024 for Queensland's best player. However, he had big shoes to fill and the hopes of 5.6 million Queenslanders weighing on his concious.
Tom responded by going one better and taking out the Wally Lewis medal in a series effort that will go down in Origin folklore.
The Maroons had plenty to play for heading into Game III. Whether it was to honour the legacy of Josh Papalii who answered Billy Slater's SOS to pull on the jersey one last time and lead the forward pack around ala Artie Beetson. Or whether it was Gehemat Shibasaki, who had defied all his critics, achieved his dream and earned his spot in the three quarter line for Queensland.
The Maroons got off to a shakey start. The Blues had early success targetting Shibasaki, but failed to maintain pressure with cheap turn-overs. Then when Queensland received their opportunity, Blues winger Zac Lomax tried to make a statement by putting a shot on Shibasaki. However Gehemat was able to shrug the would-be tackler off before sending Xavier Coates to the corner.
Later the Blues tried to assert their dominance by dragging rookie centre Robert Toia into touch. Toia was able to keep the ball alive, found Tabuai-Fidow with a pass who evaded the oncoming Blues defence before finding Dearden inside to give the Maroons a commanding 14-0 lead halftime.
Both teams were out on their feet in the shadows of half-time, but a lazy penalty by Reece Robson gave Queensland the opportunity to extend their lead. After knocking on the door several times, eventually it was Harry Grant who fought his way to the line from dummy half to give Queensland a 20-0 half-time lead.
In Game II, the Blues were able to score 24 points in the second half to take the game. However they could only muster one try before Tom Dearden drove a stake into the heart of the Blues defence with a JT-like show and go.
The Blues were able to score one last try off a kick, but by that point the series had been decided. Once again, when the chips were down, the Maroons found a response and all the controversial selections paid off.
As a Queenslander I couldn't be more proud and I'm sure as captain Cameron Munster lifted the Origin shield alongside Josh Papalii, Cameron's late father Steven would have been proud to have raised a legend.
