NSW skipper Paul Gallen saw his final State Of Origin game out in style, successfully kicking both his first and last ever Origin conversion to give the Blues another 2 points in their 18-14 win in game 3 of the season.
As he himself admitted walking off the field, it might have been a bit better if they’d won the series but you have to admit it was a surprising and heartwarming finish – and also a bit of a gamble; would have been embarrassing as shit if he’d fucked it up.
It was a close game, with QLD getting a lead in the first 5 minutes with a try from Greg Inglis (Thurston off his game though, missing the kick), leaving the Maroons with a 0-4 lead until Tyson Frizell nabbed a cheeky try at the 20 minute mark, converted by James Maloney.
No action until Andrew Fifita put the Blues further ahead with another try, followed by Gavin Cooper scoring a try for QLD, bringing the score to 12-10 at the 55 minute mark.
Pretty standard stuff up until the end when shit got crazy: Darius Boyd scored a seemingly game-ending try at the 76th minute, and JT again misses a conversion, this time managing to hit both posts and the crossbar somehow (for reals), leaving them at 12-14.
Just when all seems lost, Michael Jennings darts over the try line bring the score to 16-14 with 2 minutes to spare. Once Gallen got his kick in, it was all over.
The Wally Lewis Medal for player of the series went to QLD captain Cam Smith, nice work Cam. Honourable mention to Aaron Woods for hilariously missing this high five:
A great NSW victory, but keep an eye out post try for the high 5 gone wrong by Woods (8). Brilliant !! pic.twitter.com/1ocRKKY0fo
— Jihad Dib MP (@jihaddibmp) July 13, 2016
Good match, NSW is looking stronger than they have for a while. Better luck next year.
Photo: Getty Images / Cameron Spencer.
