State of Origin game three player ratings: See who starred and the surprising big name who was an absolute flop in Queensland's win for the ages

Daily Mail​

09-07-2025

Billy Slater's Queensland left New South Wales stunned as they won back State of Origin bragging rights on Wednesday evening in Sydney with a 24-12 victory against the Blues.
Emotional scenes erupted at full-time as players and coaches from both sides rallied around Maroons captain Cameron Munster, who returned to guide his side to the epic victory, following the sudden passing of his dad, Steven, over the weekend.
Tom Dearden was crowned the Player of the Series and once again stood up for the Maroons, scoring twice either side of half-time, with Xavier Coates and Harry Grant also crossing the whitewash.
New South Wales had looked a shadow of the side that had won the opening fixture of the series, with the Maroons running out a 20-0 lead by half-time.
Daily Mail Australia's Shayne Bugden reveals who flopped and who shone as he delivers his player ratings from Wednesday's crunch decider.
New South Wales
1. Dylan Edwards 5
Sure, his 270-odd metres topped the charts for both sides, but he was a long way off his usual high standards. Threw a good ball for the only NSW try but struggled to make an impact otherwise.
2. Brian To'o 7
One of the Blues' best, despite carrying a knee injury into the match. Could've scored a try if Latrell's pass wasn't forward and did good work carting the ball back out when the forwards were busted, and also made a line break - a very rare site for NSW.
3. Stephen Crichton 6
The side's lone tryscorer was effective in defence and made several strong runs, but he also contributed to the awfully disjointed NSW attack, with their backs and halves looking like strangers at several critical stages.
4. Latrell Mitchell 4
Two forward passes - one of which wasn't picked up by the touchie - and some really bad misses in defence for the Bunnies superstar. He was more involved this time around than he was in game two, but there wasn't much quality to his efforts.
5. Zac Lomax 3
If he'd played like this in game two, all the talk would have been about who was going to replace him on the wing. Rushed up and missed his man to let Queensland in for their first, and that was far from his only defensive lapse. A couple of strong runs and that difficult conversion were his only real contributions.
6. Jarome Luai 3
Fans will be filthy that Mitch Moses was injured for games two and three. Luai had nowhere near the Parra half's impact - he was often the point where the attack broke down, did nothing with the boot bar that kick to set up the last try, and his passing was off too.
7. Nathan Cleary 4
There was talk that winning a decider was the last big achievement missing from his career. Now the fans who have been unfairly slamming him for not aiming up in Origin have a good argument - he did not step up when desperately needed. Queensland killed NSW with the boot, largely because he was ineffective with punt-it-and-hope tactics. Needed to take this one by the scruff of the neck and wasn't anywhere near it.
8. Max King 4
The words 'pop gun' spring to mind. He was hard to spot out there, getting just 23 minutes of playing time - and he didn't do much with them.
9. Reece Robson 6
Good in defence, as usual, with 46 tackles, and chanced his arm with a bit more running than he's known for, but made way for Connor Watson after 53 minutes - and the difference in energy after that was very noticeable.
10. Payne Haas 7
Bad back? What bad back? Got through 63 minutes and was easily the best forward in the losing side. Made almost as many tackles as Robson, and sometimes looked like the only member of the pack who could bend the line. Would've been a far worse loss without him.
11. Liam Martin 5
He'll be killing himself over this match. Marto is usually in a few memorable moments in Origins, but nothing stood out from him tonight. No mongrel moments, no running battles with Munster, no dynamite hits... just hanging on for dear life, like most of his teammates.
12. Angus Crichton 4
Got levelled by Valentine Holmes in the first half and did bugger-all after that. Let's repeat that: last year's player of the series, the best NSW forward in 2024, got folded by a winger.
There were no stand out moments for NSW star Liam Martin (left) either, and he'll be kicking himself over his side's performance
13. Isaah Yeo 7
Poor bloke. He tried his guts out, tried to pick the team up by leading through example by taking probing runs and trying to set up play with his usual pivot-like play, and was pretty much mistake-free.
14. Connor Watson 6
Gave the Blues a real burst through the ruck when he came on, challenging the defence with his footwork and energy. Daley might be wishing he'd brought him on with 10-15 minutes left in the first half, when the Blues needed a momentum lift like a drowning man needs oxygen.
15. Spencer Leniu 6
Much like Watson, he did a good job of pinning his ears back and hitting the Maroons with some blunt-force trauma. Not much variety in his game but when you can run that hard, who cares?
16. Hudson Young 3
Only had 28 minutes, and the most noticeable thing about those was his awful kick in the second half, which he followed up by knocking on when he tried to regather.
17. Stefano Utoikamanu
You'd have to be brave to bet on him getting another start for NSW. Expect a lot of fans to be smashing the selectors for going with him over Terrell May in one of the more head-scratching choices of the series.
Queensland
1. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow 8
Slater's decision to pick him over Reece Walsh worried a lot of Maroons fans, but he handled the switch to fullback brilliantly. Safe under the ball, cut through NSW to set up Dearden's first try, saved an Angus Crichton try, displayed great speed and evasion on a dynamite second-half run.
2. Xavier Coates 7
Scored the first try, but the real story with him was his tough running, which put him on the approach to 200 metres for the night.
3. Robert Toia 8
Just quality for all of his 80 minutes. He popped up everywhere - hard running, smart passing, making half-breaks, setting up the men outside him, and his defence was terrific. A stone in the Blues' shoe from start to finish. Terrorised Latrell Mitchell more than once.
4. Gehamat Shibasaki 7.5
Set up the first try by making Lomax look silly. Made a few other Blues look silly by running through or over them. Unless the Broncs win the grand final, this will be the high point of an incredible comeback year for the Origin debutant.
5. Valentine Holmes 7
Will probably have a lot of blue fibres from Angus Crichton's jersey embedded in his top after that hit. Has struggled in defence before. Did anything but that tonight.
6. Cameron Munster 8
Purely in terms of his play, this wasn't as good as game two - but the degree of difficulty for him after losing his father can't be overstated. Years and years from now, he'll still be getting asked about this game on TV. You'd usually say he was solid or safe, but in light of the lead-up to the match, he was brilliant.
7. Tom Dearden 9.5
The two tries were great, but they were overshadowed by one of the finest defensive games from a No.7 in Origin history, coupled with a kicking game that left the efforts from Luai and Cleary in the dust. Played tough, played direct, put Cotter through with a beautiful ball that didn't get the try it deserved - but you can't go past the desperation, dedication and technique in defence.
8. Josh Papalii 6
Just 24 minutes for the veteran after he came out of Origin retirement at Billy Slater's request. Mistake-free footy, though, and he had an impact with the ball.
You'd usually say he was solid or safe, but in light of the lead-up to the match, Cameron Munster (pictured) was brilliant
Tom Dearden's (front) two tries were great, but they were overshadowed by one of the finest defensive games from a No.7 in Origin history
9. Harry Grant 8
His best Origin game. A few NSW stars won't be able to watch his try without dying of embarrassment, he made a staggering number of tackles, kept making incisive runs out of dummy half, and removed any doubts about how effective Queensland can be with him in the No.9 strip.
10. Tino Fa'asuamaleaui 7
No monster hits or hit-ups from him, but pretty much every carry he made in his 40 minutes was quality as he helped sap the life out of the Blues.
11. Reuben Cotter 8
Had a huge hole on the chest of his jersey at full time, probably from friction after constantly slamming into the Blues with and without the ball all night. He's Mr Reliable and then some.
12. Kurt Capewell 6.5
After absolutely killing it in game two, he took more of a back seat in the decider, having less of an impact than the other forwards. One of the only Cane Toads who didn't always aim up in defence.
Melbourne Storm star Harry Grant (pictured) enjoyed his best Origin game to date, touching down in the second half for a try
Tino Fa'asuamaleaui (left) carried well throughout the match and showed a touching moment of support for Munster (right) ahead of the game
13. Trent Loiero 7.5
For a bloke who's not exactly built like a Kenworth truck, he was an absolute rock in the middle in defence. Kept not just popping up in the line, but snapping the Blues' heads back as he rocked ball runner after ball runner.
14. Kurt Mann 6
Bad timing for Mann, who came on after about 10 minutes of the second half, when the game had shifted gear a bit. Did what he could with his 27 minutes.
15. Lindsay Collins 7
Not as many bullocking, highlight-reel runs as we've seen from him previously, but more than made up for it with - you guessed it - more typically north-of-the-Tweed tackling excellence.
16. Patrick Carrigan 8
After a performance like that, you have to wonder why he didn't start. Performances like that show why he's been spoken of as a future Maroons and even Kangaroos skipper. Was possibly the best metre-eater on the park in addition to his usual outstanding work whacking Cockroaches.