New South Wales 14 def. Queensland 4 (Valentine Holmes 2 goals)
1-2
It was a tense game and despite being on the back-foot for the majority of the game, the Maroons found themselves with an unlikely 4-2 lead heading into the final quarter.
When Kalyn Ponga joined the action, it appeared the Maroons were going to break the game wide open. However some desperate NSW defence and sloppy Maroons attack prevented them from taking their opportunities.
In the end, it was Crichton who ignited the Blues attack and Luai took full advantage with a scintellating run to set up Bradman Best. In the following set, Grant gave away a silly penalty in the ruck and Moses capitilised as he tore through some tired Maroons defence.
NSW nearly scored three in a row, but Reece Walsh was just able to reign in Stephen Crichton before he could cross the line.
The Blues were the better team all night but just couldn't pull the trigger and kept playing conservative footy. The Maroons lapped it up and took full advantage of Klein's lax interpretation of the ruck to hold them to nil.
The Maroons rarely won the arm wrestle and their attack lacked shape and direction. It appeared that players weren't in position when they needed to be or failed to make the right pass choices.
On the plus side, Carrigan was as strong as ever in a losing side and was the stand-out forward. Tommy Dearden was all effort and looks to have a bright future in the halves.
Big test for Slater moving forward. He had the midas touch in 2022 and 2023 but 2024 was the first time he made some questionable selections. We'll see how he responds next year, especially as the senior players like Cherry-Evans and Hunt begin to wind down their careers.
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