State of Origin: Dane Gagai hat-trick hands Queensland the series
Last Updated: 22/06/16 2:47pm
A Dane Gagai hat-trick gave Queensland a 26-16 win over New South Wales as the Maroons clinched the 2016 State of Origin.
Gagai crossed once in the first half and twice in the second to hand his side the win as they claimed the series with a game to spare.
Queensland led 10-4 at half-time and were first to score in the second half, but the Blues kept fighting back with scores from Tyson Frizell and James Maloney making it a four-point game in the final quarter.
The Blues came close to drawing level late on but an agonising Jennings knock-on ruled out what looked to be a try from Frizell. Corey Oates then scored in the corner to seal the game for the home side in front of a jubilant Brisbane crowd.
The Maroons won the first game of the series 6-4 in Sydney earlier in the month, with the final game played back in Sydney on 13 July.
The Maroons were on the rampage from the outset on Wednesday. A scathing run from Cameron Smith took them them deep into the New South Wales half, forcing the visiting defence to scramble which led to Greg Inglis being tackled without the ball. Johnathan Thurston stepped up and gave his side a 2-0 lead from the tee.
Adam Reynolds brought the Blues level in the 10th minute with a kick at goal, before giving his side a two-point lead after Sam Thaiday was penalised for a dangerous tackle for which he was put on report.
As the first quarter drew to a close Thurston brought things level things once more with his second shot at goal.
Gagai then scored the first of his tries. It came after New South Wales tried to play with width in the opposition half. Michael Jennings tried to offload in the tackle down the left but Josh Mansour fumbled the ball into the air and Gagai pounced for a breakaway score.
Thurston converted from out wide to give the Maroons a 10-4 lead going into the break.
Gagai was on the board early in the second half when Queensland were on the attack and Jennings came out of the defensive line, allowing Boyd to throw a pass over the top for the winger to score in the corner.
It looked ominous for the Blues but they were next on the scoreboard following some ill discipline from the home side. Adam Reynolds put up a high kick that landed close to the Queensland line, but the chasing Blues players were impeded in trying to get to the ball.
From the penalty the Blues were able to work the ball to Reynolds who drew two defenders before producing a fantastic offload for Frizell to score under the poles to make it 16-10.
Gagai crossed for his third at the beginning of the fourth quarter when Queensland ran the ball on the last tackle and it caught New South Wales cold. Thurston grubbered into the corner and Gagai dived over to score, but Thurston was unable to convert.
The Blues hit back once more, with a high kick from Cooper Cronk taken by Gagai who tried to offload to Justin O'Neill, but Maloney read the pass brilliantly to tear upfield, racing underneath the posts to score for a 20-16 scoreline.
The Blues then came incredibly close to drawing level when Maloney put in a grubber which Frizell was poised to dot down, but Jennings got there ahead of his team-mate and stretched to score but only succeed in knocking the ball on.
The game was then taken away from the visitors when Thurston attacked down the left to set up a try in the corner for Oates, Thurston once again converting impressively from the corner to bring down the curtain on a thrilling Origin encounter.
