Here’s how the Queensland Maroons rated in game one of the 2024 State of Origin series.
1. Reece Walsh: Smashed in the head by Joseph Suaalii in the seventh minute and wasn’t seen on the field again. 3/10 (through no fault of his own)
2. Xavier Coates: Strong metres, tackle breaks, decent defence, and good support play gave him a late try. He’s a quality Origin winger. 7/10
3. Valentine Holmes: His usual solid self. 7/7 with the boot, and 146 metres with plenty of tough runs. 7/10
4. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow: Three tries, lots of action, held up Spencer Leniu when the NSW prop was certain to score. Turned up in the right places when it mattered. A great outing. 8.5/10
5. Murray Taulagi: Another quietly good game, one blemish when he got turned around on the Lomax try in the second half but the’s a minor quibble as he laid on two tries and caused big NSW headaches. 7/10
6. Tom Dearden: Was good early when the heat was on. Targeted in defence but held up well, was a good foil for the DCE show and made a nice late run to hand the Hammer his hat-trick. 6/10
7. Daly Cherry-Evans (c): Queensland’s best. Great awareness to lay on the game’s opening try and he always had things under control. Made a majestic play for Coates to score in the 70th minute. 9/10
Daly Cherry-Evans. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
8. Reuben Cotter: The usual Origin outing we’ve come to expect from Cotter – tireless, everywhere, reliable. 46 tackles kept the Blues confined up the middle. 7/10
9. Ben Hunt: Showed those veteran wiles to get himself in the right spot to score the opening try, then killed the game once and for all when going 50m from dummy half for his second. Worked the pace of his team well. 7/10
10. Lindsay Collins: Collins really has grown into one of Queensland’s best front-rowers. He belted into the Blues all night for 139 metres. 8/10
11. Jaydn Su’A: The official stats might not reflect it, but I thought he was great. One of the best forwards on the field in the first half. 7.5/10
12. Jeremiah Nanai: Big defensive effort with 48 tackles, not much required of him with the ball as the backs ran riot. Could have iced the game midway through the second half but lost possession on the line. 6.5/10
13. Patrick Carrigan: Just a powerhouse. His work rate is like few others on the State of Origin stage. Vacuumed up anyone in a blue jersey who went near him, then stomped all over them when he carried the ball. 8/10
14. Harry Grant: Came on at the half hour and was quality. Didn’t need to be the game breaker because Queensland had broken the game already. 6/10
15. Moeaki Fotuaika: Did what was asked of him, nothing more and nothing less. I love MoFo but he’s had more impressive games for Queensland. 5/10
16. J’maine Hopgood: No minutes in the first half and was reasonable when he came on. Got a good ‘welcome to Origin’ pasting from Liam Martin too – as they say in the classics, he’ll be good for the run. 5/10
17. Selwyn Cobbo: Came on to cover Walsh and decimated the NSW right side as they put the decisive gap on the scoreboard. His ability to break tackles is terrifying for the NSW defence, he busted nine tonight. 8/10
18. Felise Kaufusi: Available as the reserve after Walsh’s exit but wasn’t activated until midway through the second half. As usual he barely touched the ball in attack but was his typical nuisance self in defence. 4/10