Match Report – NSW 22 – 20 Queensland

Nathan Clearly converted James Tedesco’s try with the final kick of the game as New South Wales snatched a dramatic win over Queensland; Kalyn Ponga was sent off for the Maroons, who go 1-0 down; watch the State of Origin live on Sky Sports

New South Wales snatched a dramatic State of Origin series opener after capitalising on Kalyn Ponga’s dismissal to claim a 22-20 victory over Queensland in Sydney.

Queensland scored three tries in a eight-minute first-half burst to race into a 20-0 advantage and held a 20-6 half-time lead at the Accor Stadium, only for momentum to switch after Ponga was sent off in the 58th minute.

Ponga became just the seventh player in State of Origin history to be sent off after a high tackle on Toluta’u Koula, with New South Wales capitalising on their man advantage with tries from Ethan Strange and Nathan Cleary.

Cleary converted his score and played a key role in a dramatic finish, following some resolute Maroons defending, with the full-back’s high kick caught and grounded by James Tedesco to level the scores in the penultimate minute.

The conversion was then made by Cleary in the rain to spark jubilant celebrations and complete a remarkable comeback from New South Wales, who move 1-0 up in the best-of-three series.

Player-of-the-match Nathan Cleary:

“That’s just Origin – it was crazy but that’s why we love the game. It was a tale of two halves, but for Teddy [Tedesco] to come up with that big play at the end – unbelievable!

“Typical Queensland, they came out really fast and got the jump on us. The talk behind the line was just checking in on each other. We knew we could get back in it and we had to fight hard to do it.

“Disappointed with the first half. Didn’t have much defensive resolve. There are two games to go and we have that opportunity to write that wrong. We don’t want to fall in love with ourselves; we’ll enjoy tonight and get back to it.”

What’s next?

The final match of the Women’s State of Origin takes place on Thursday, with New South Wales looking to complete a series sweep after an 11-6 win over Queensland in game one and 14-10 victory in Game Two. Live coverage begins on Thursday from 10.30am on Sky Sports Action, with kick-off at 10.45am.

The men’s series continues on June 17 at the MCG in Melbourne and concludes at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on July 8, with both matches live on Sky Sports. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract.