Queensland fullback Billy Slater has revealed he experienced the toughest minutes of his rugby league career as the Maroons withstood a furious late onslaught from NSW to extend their remarkable Origin series streak over the Blues.
Five-eighth Johnathan Thurston, who scored all but four of Queensland's points in their 12-10 win, said the Maroons went into robot mode to deny NSW.
NSW got within two points of the Maroons in Wednesday's series decider at ANZ Stadium after James Maloney converted a Trent Merrin try to set up a grandstand finish in front of more than 83,000 spectators.
The Blues strove mightily in the closing minutes to end seven years of Origin heartache, but even with a try to Maroons prop Matt Scott rubbed out following the intervention of a male streaker, they couldn't breach the stout Queensland defence again.
"That last ten minutes, from the nine-minute mark when they scored that try to the five-minute mark when we got the penalty, is probably the toughest four minutes of any football that I've played,'' Slater said.