Queensland hold on to force State of Origin decider
New South Wales won the 2024 State of Origin
- Published
2025 State of Origin: Game two
Queensland: (26) 26
Tries: Tabuai-Fidow (2), Munster, Capewell Goals: Holmes (5)
New South Wales: (6) 24
Tries: To'o (3)3, S Crichton, A Crichton Goals: Lomax (2)
Queensland held off an incredible comeback from New South Wales to win 26-24 and force a decider in the three-game State of Origin series.
The Maroons scored four first-half tries to enter the break with a 26-6 lead in Perth.
That left the Blues with a mountain to climb, but they started the second half strongly as Brian To'o completed his hat-trick to put his side back in contention.
A 72nd-minute try from Angus Crichton cut the Maroons' advantage to two points, but the Blues missed several chances to complete the series win at the death.
Goal-kicking errors proved costly for the defending champions, with Zac Lomax missing three of his five attempts, while Valentine Holmes was perfect with four from four.
To make matters worse for the Blues, halfback Jarome Luai was placed on report for appearing to rake his fingers across Reuben Cotter's eyes in the 23rd minute.
The series decider is on 9 July at Accor Stadium, Sydney.