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 an 11-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.
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Queensland’s Kalyn Ponga was sent off controversially for a high tackle on New South Wales’ Toluta’u Koula
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.
New South Wales beat Queensland 22-20 to move 1-0 up in the best-of-three series
More to follow…
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.
