The sight of Jai Arrow walking off the Queensland team bus in a Maroons blazer on Wednesday night was enough to send shivers down the spine of Blues fans.
It was a powerful moment, akin to last year when Cameron Munster declared he would play in the Origin decider in Sydney just three days after the death of his father, Steven. We all know how that movie ended: a stunning 24-12 Queensland victory fuelled by a playmaker with the ball on a string and a greater purpose driving him.
Arrow’s battle with motor neurone disease has rocked the rugby league world, and the Maroons were able to draw on a hefty dose of old-fashioned Queensland spirit in a match that looked over after 20 minutes.
Queensland displayed all the traits Arrow will need in his battle – courage, determination and resilience – as they carved open a shaky Blues outfit whose ball handling was diabolical.
That was until Kalyn Ponga was sent off and all hell broke loose, as James Tedesco leapt high in the air in the penultimate minute for one of the greatest Origin tries in the greatest comeback in Origin history.
Somehow, the Blues found themselves in front by full-time, in one of the most incredible games of rugby league imaginable.
Nathan Cleary answered his critics in the most emphatic fashion with a clutch 40-20 and outstanding leadership as the Blues ran over the top of a wounded 12-man Maroons outfit to win 22-20 with a conversion in the final five seconds.
For all the debate about whether Billy Slater made the wrong call by picking Ponga over Reece Walsh, the decision seemed to be vindicated in a breathtaking first half as the Newcastle star threw audacious passes deep inside Queensland territory and flew to take high balls with little regard for his own safety.
That was until Ponga’s second-half send-off changed the complexion of the match as the Blues saw an opening and broke the visitors’ hearts.
The Maroons have won countless Origin matches with an inferior team on paper, continually finding a way to squeeze more juice out of the lemon through internal and external motivations. Their spine of Munster, Ponga, Sam Walker and Harry Grant looked to make a mockery of the bookmakers before the Blues rebounded in magnificent style to take a 1-0 series lead against all the odds.
The best players can flick a switch on the biggest occasions, and Ponga and Munster did exactly that, particularly the latter given his patchy club form with Melbourne to the point he had even apparently contemplated retirement a few weeks ago.
The taunt that Queensland “get” Origin didn’t come to fruition when it mattered most as the Blues’ spine of Cleary, Tedesco, Ethan Strange and Reece Robson found cohesion, creativity and control right at the death.
It was fitting Cleary and his new halves partner Strange stood arm in arm during the national anthem, as it proved a symbol of the partnership that followed over the next 80 minutes, with flashes of individual brilliance from both.
What a refreshing sight it was to see some flow return to rugby league as referee Ashley Klein largely put away his whistle.
League great Andrew Johns had foreshadowed all week that Walker’s short kicking game loomed as a major threat, and his pinpoint grubber to set up Roosters teammate Robert Toia was an ominous sign of what was to come.
Cleary orchestrated one of the great grand final first halves at the same venue against Parramatta in 2022, but on Wednesday night he found himself on the receiving end of one of Queensland’s best opening salvos. Or perhaps it was simply one of NSW’s worst, as evidenced by a completion rate of just 44 per cent after 25 minutes.
Cleary’s final quarter had shades of his masterclass in the 2023 grand final against Brisbane, while Tedesco’s outstanding late try was better than his effort for NSW to steal victory in 2019.
As the carnage unfolded and the Blues trailed 20-0, Victor Radley stood near the bench with hands on hips waiting for his opportunity, like a caged lion watching every chance at a kill slip by.
NSW scored in the first set after he entered the field, but their ill-discipline for the remainder of the night repeatedly left coach Laurie Daley rocking his head back and burying his face in his hands.
By the end of the night, Daley was all smiles, as stunned as anyone that the Blues had clawed their way back against all the odds.
“I don’t know how coaches do that week in, week out,” a drained Daley said.
Tom Decent is the chief sports writer for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.
