Johnathan Thurston during game 1 of State of Origin. Photo / Getty
Stars and stinkers for the Queensland and the Blues in Origin I.
1. DARIUS BOYD - Arguably Queensland's best, defusing a number of Blues opportunities with supreme positioning in defence in a flawless performance. 8
2. COREY OATES - Didn't do much in attack and wasn't asked to do much in defence. Quiet. 5
3. GREG INGLIS - Quiet by his standards, but still made a casual 103m. 6
4. JUSTIN O'NEILL - Overcame an early knock from a Josh Mansour run and made some good reads as NSW peppered his right edge. 6
5. DANE GAGAI - Scored Queensland's first at the end of a big first half, and saved a certain try to deny Josh Mansour in the second. 7
6. JOHNATHAN THURSTON - Picked his moments well, including playing a hand in Dane Gagai's try, and then pinning the Blues down there own end in the second. 7
7. COOPER CRONK - Wasn't hampered by his ankle, but wasn't a major threat either. Did what he had to do to get his team around the park. 6
8. MATT SCOTT - A mountain of strength for Queensland's unbreakable middle, especially in the early yardage battle. 7
9. CAMERON SMITH (c) - His left foot kicking game out of dummy half got his team out of some sticky situations in the first half. 7
10. NATE MYLES - Absorbed some early punishment in the first half but held his own. 6
11. MATT GILLETT - Carried his good NRL form into Origin, hurting the Blues with some bruising runs on the right edge. 7
12. SAM THAIDAY - Let his teammates down with two crucial errors in good-ball territory. 5
13. COREY PARKER - Easily the best of Queensland's starting forwards, standing up to an early Blues avalanche. 8
INTERCHANGE:
14. MICHAEL MORGAN - A surprise early introduction for Corey Parker, but was well-contained until he was rocked by David Klemmer's hip. 4
15. JOSH McGUIRE - The Maroons' best forward off the bench, his 121 metres the most in the Maroons' engine room. Didn't stop running. 7
16. AIDAN GUERRA - A subdued shift, wasn't asked to do much. 5
17. JOSH PAPALII - Showed plenty of quality in his carries in stints either side of halftime. 7
1. MATT MOYLAN - Came up with clangers early in both halves but had his moments in attack. 6.5
2. BLAKE FERGUSON - Almost produced his own Justin Hodges moment in-goal in a quiet comeback to Origin. 5
3. MICHAEL JENNINGS - Came to life in the second half but just couldn't land the killer blow. 6
18. JOSH MORRIS - Big error from tap restart in the first half, then denied a big try in the second. 5
5. JOSH MANSOUR - Lifted his team with a handful of trademark carries out of their end in the second half, busting a team-high five tackles. 6
6. JAMES MALONEY - Gave away the penalty for Johnathan Thurston's early goal but set up the opening try for Boyd Cordner and was one of the Blues' best. 7.5
7. ADAM REYNOLDS - Got better as the game went on but, like a number of his teammates, just couldn't land a killer blow when his team was in good field position. Missed a relatively easy conversion. 6
8. AARON WOODS - Cracked the 100-metre mark in a superb first stint, but couldn't replicate it in his second. 6.5
9. ROBBIE FARAH - Like his opposite, wrong-footed the Queensland defence with some creative kicks out of dummy half. 7
10. PAUL GALLEN (c) - A typical workmanlike performance but didn't make the same impact on the game compared to previous years. 6
11. BOYD CORDNER - Scored the opening try with a signature hole run on the left edge, and repeated it for the rest of the night in an 80-minute effort. 7
12. JOSH JACKSON - Solid without being spectacular. 6
13. GREG BIRD - Tried to lift his team with some aggressive defence and runs. 6
INTERCHANGE:
14. DYLAN WALKER - Came on late and made no impact, save for a silly error at the end of the game. 2
15. JAMES TAMOU - A surprise move to the run-on side and was arguably the Blues' best forward in the first half, but didn't come back on. 6
16. DAVID KLEMMER - Bent the Queensland defence when he came on in the first half but failed to break them. 6
17. ANDREW FIFITA - Brought the house down with a powerhouse first run in the second half and produced a team-high three offloads in a lone second half shift. 6
OPINION: Despite disappointments against Australia and Tonga, there were signs of hope.