3 minute read

NSW levelled the State of Origin series with a 34-10 win over Queensland at ANZ Stadium.

STATE OF ORIGIN II AT A GLANCE

* RESULT: NSW 34 (Josh Addo-Carr 2, Cody Walker, James Tedesco, Jack Wighton, Daniel Tupou tries; Nathan Cleary 4 cons, pen goal) bt Queensland 10 (Xavier Coates, Josh Papalii tries; Valentine Holmes 1 con)

* KEY MOMENT: Jack Wighton was given a bath by Queensland counterpart Dane Gagai in Origin I but got his revenge just three minutes into the second half. The Dally M Medallist stood up his opponent and powered over the line to score and put the Blues ahead 24-4.

* MAN OF THE MATCH: Nathan Cleary. The NSW halfback was criticised by plenty of pundits after his Origin I performance but rose to the challenge to lead the Blues to victory in game two. Coming into the match he was the only Origin half to have not recorded a try-assist, line-break assist or try in his first six games. However, he finished the night with three line-break assists and two try assists.

* TALKING POINTS: Cameron Munster is in doubt for next week's decider after failing a HIA. The star five-eighth was in another world just two minutes in after his head hit the ground when he fell while contesting for the ball. A flying tackle from NSW second-rower Tyson Frizell caught Munster around the waist and the Queensland ace came crashing down hard. There were serious concerns as he struggled to get to his feet, unsurprisingly he failed a HIA shortly afterwards.

* KEY STAT: Queensland were completely dominated, finishing with just 31 per cent of the territory - a far cry from the 51 per cent they had to win game one in Adelaide. They also missed a whopping 32 tackles and made 10 errors, gifting ball to the Blues who completed 40 of 44 sets.

* INJURIES: Queensland - Cameron Munster (concussion)