Joker and the Thief win the night: How a star duo helped Queensland play their oldest tune

The Age

16 hours ago

However, the Maroons played smarter in the first half with their glut of possession, while the Blues charged one out at the defensive line with all the grace of a well-hurled bowling ball. The NSW forwards seemed more intent on winning a battle of collisions than securing a victory.
Rugby league's two best centres, Latrell Mitchell and Stephen Crichton, were starved of the ball, given the penalties and wet, greasy conditions.
The game was, therefore, decided by players with the No.8 and higher on their backs and the Maroons edged NSW in this area. Incoming forward Kurt Capewell, a veteran of Origin, proved to be a welcome gap-plugger, run-stopper and back-up man. The Queensland pack found the go forward that had been missing in Brisbane.
It wasn't as if NSW did not expect a Queensland fightback. A text message from the Blues dressing-room minutes before kick off read: 'We need to get through the opening onslaught and we should be OK.'
NSW actually scored the first try when the Penrith halves combination that won four consecutive NRL premierships saw Nathan Cleary passing to Jarome Luai who grubbered through for another Panther and NSW's best, Brian To'o, to score. But the Blues frustration with penalties and dropped ball grew, resulting in a first-half completion rate of 56%.
Queenslanders see omens everywhere at Origin time, including in the pre-match entertainment at Perth's Optus Stadium. Wolfmother sang 'Joker and the Thief'.
Cameron Munster, the man of the match is known as a joker, although he wore his game face in his debut as captain. Harry Grant, his Melbourne teammate, played the role of thief, stealing metres from dummy half, including setting up Munster's try to give the Maroons a 20-6 lead.
Queensland coach Billy Slater surprised by starting with his nominated team, despite leaving his best two forwards from the first game – Jeremiah Nanai and Pat Carrigan – on the bench. Carrigan's presence was needed when some of the inexperienced Maroons tired.
Slater looked composed throughout, compared to the lead-up when, under sustained criticism, his normal unflappable self looked extremely flapped.
Once again, the negative pre-match publicity fed the Queensland underdog psyche, with Munster revealing afterwards that the Maroons were motivated to 'turn up for our coach'.
In the long history of Origin, how many times have we seen Queensland, when facing defeat, claw back, in the adrenalised manner of someone fighting off death?
Still, the result would have been different if two of the conversion attempts of NSW winger Zac Lomax had not hit the uprights.
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Similarly, in the Brisbane game, Cleary failed with three goal attempts, although in that match it did not matter.
In the final analysis, the Maroons out-hustled, outwitted and outlasted the Blues, and we now move to Homebush for the decider on July 9.
Unexpected, maybe. Unbelievable, perhaps. Unfinished, certainly.