State of Origin: Valentine Holmes hattrick seals series win for Queensland

Queensland captain Cameron Smith and halfback Cooper Cronk delivered a State of Origin masterclass to blow New South Wales off the park with a 22-6 game three win in Brisbane last night.

Queensland wing Valentine Holmes scored a hattrick before Jarrod Wallace crossed for their fourth try to seal victory, after the Blues had briefly threatened a comeback with centre Josh Dugan scoring their only four-pointer early in the second-half.

The result clinched Queensland's 11th series win in 12 years to keep their dynasty alive in front of a capacity Suncorp Stadium crowd of 52,540, while the Blues continue to search for answers after a third straight series loss.

The victory also gave Maroons great Johnathan Thurston plenty to like from his seat in the grandstand, after his 37 game Origin career was ended by a shoulder injury in Queensland's game two win in Sydney.

His replacement in the No6 jersey, Cameron Munster, looked right at home, with the 22-year-old Melbourne Storm star providing the final pass for his side's last two tries.

The Maroons were clinical from the outset and all but sealed victory with a near-perfect first-half that saw Holmes score twice to help provide a 12-0 halftime lead.

Smith made good on a pre-game vow to run the football more than he had in the first two games as he orchestrated the Maroons structured yet wide-ranging attack.

New South Wales were flat in comparison with starting front-rowers Andrew Fifita and Aaron Woods and interchange prop David Klemmer well contained and unable to generate any second-phase play.

The Blues' halves pairing of Mitchell Pearce and James Maloney had little attacking ball and suffocating Queensland defence nullified their attempts to apply pressure through last-tackle kicks.

Queensland landed the first blow after 15 minutes when centre Michael Morgan attracted put left wing Valentine Holmes in to score in the corner with Smith adding the extras off the boot.

They looked to be in again soon after when fullback Billy Slater put his Melbourne Storm teammate Cooper Cronk in the clear, but the Blues were let off the hook when video replays revealed he lost possession as he dived for the line.

Cronk made amends in the 26th minute after Smith cut through the middle of the ruck, with the No7's pinpoint cross-field kick finding Holmes for his second four-pointer, with Smith again converting to make it 12-0.

In a frantic finish to the half, Maloney produced a try-saving tackle on Queensland forward Tim Glasby before a forward pass from Smith on the next play saw a certain try go begging, before Dugan lost the ball in a desperate and rare chance close to the opposition try line.

The Blues prayers were answered nine minutes into the second-half when centre Josh Dugan scored behind the posts with Maloney converting to inspire the visitors to lift their intensity.

But what little hope New South Wales had took a dramatic dive in the 60th minute, when Munster broke clear to send Holmes in for his third to make it 16-6, before Wallace stormed over to kick-start celebrations 13 minutes from fulltime.

The Maroons were awarded a penalty in the dying stages but Smith was off the mark with his attempt at goal before fulltime blew on another impressive Queensland triumph.

Queensland 22 (Valentine Holmes 3, Jarrod Wallace tries, Cameron Smith 3 cons)

NSW 6 (Josh Dugan try, James Maloney con)