Queensland crush NSW to retain State of Origin title
Valentine Holmes bagged a double as Queensland wrapped up the best-of-three State of Origin rugby league series with a resounding 32-6 victory over New South Wales in Brisbane on Wednesday. A pumped-up Queensland were relentless in game two in front of a capacity crowd of 52,000 at Suncorp Stadium and overwhelmed their rivals six tries to one. Queensland stunned New South Wales 26-18 in the first game last month in neutral Adelaide and went on to retain the shield they won as underdogs in an unexpected 2-1 triumph last year. The Queensland Maroons will look for a clean sweep in the final game at Stadium Australia in Sydney on July 12. "We should be really proud how we defended and the scoreboard reflected the type of footy we can play," Queensland captain Daly Cherry-Evans said. The NSW Blues fought hard in the first half but struggled to penetrate and didn't hit the scoreboard until the 57th minute, with the pressure intensifying on under-siege NSW coach Brad Fittler. "We weren't as smooth as we would have liked but you have to give credit to Queensland who force errors," said Damien Cook, who scored NSW's only try. Both teams made changes from the series opener, the most notable being the absence of star NSW halfback Nathan Cleary due to a hamstring injury. A predictably physical start to the match accounted for Blues fullback Tom Trbojevic, who suffered a pectoral muscle injury in the opening minutes. NSW appeared rattled in the febrile atmosphere and Holmes capitalised with an opportunistic first try for the home team. A replay of the try was needed to clear doubt over whether Holmes had grounded the ball. Mitch Moses, Cleary's replacement, played with trademark flair in a bid to ignite NSW but it was to no avail as Queensland's defence held firm. NSW looked set to finally hit the scoreboard when Stephen Crichton broke free on the right side only to be denied in a desperate tackle by Cherry-Evans. Murray Taulagi then scored under the posts to lift Queensland to a 10-0 lead at half-time. Queensland came out aggressively in the second half before Holmes crossed for his second try. NSW's resistance was seemingly broken when a favourable bounce landed in the arms of Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Queensland blew out to a 20-0 lead. But the Blues breathed life back into the contest when Cook accelerated through the middle to put NSW on the scoreboard. Their fightback was only fleeting, with Xavier Coates flying over the line for Queensland to successfully defend their title. (AFP)