James Tedesco tried his best, but it wasn’t enough as New South Wales lost 22-12 to Queensland to lose the 2022 State of Origin series.
The star full-back was the Blues’ best, while the efforts of Jake Trbojevic also didn’t go unnoticed, scoring Jacob Saifiti on the debut in a moment he’ll never forget.
But Stephen Crichton, Daniel Tupou and Siosifa Talakai have had nights they’d like to put behind them.
Read on for Origin III’s New South Wales player ratings.
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1. JAMES TEDESCO 7
Typically an all-rounder of energy performance. Once again underlined status as the best full-back in the NRL and that says a lot in view of the field of candidates.
2. BRIAN TO’O 6
A key factor for the Blues when it comes to getting tough shots out of their own half, but the Maroons played smart with brilliant kicking game aimed to minimize involvement.
3.MATT BURTON5
Plant a bomb in the first half standing in the grand finale for the greatest in history. Sin because of the stench with Dane Gagai. Not as common as when it debuted in Origin II.
4.STEPHEN CRICHTON4
Poorly read as Val Holmes went to the game’s opening attempt with a power over. Recovered with decent pre-cerebral involvement after an extremely hard carry to throw a wild pass to put Queensland back in play.
5.DANIEL TUPOU 4
Costly mistake just before half-time which ultimately proved to be a big moment in the game. Far from his best performance in a blue knight.
6.JAROME LUAI 5
I’ve taken a lot of risks, some good and some not so good. The wild pass over the sideline in an even game was a failure. Strong opening half.
7.NATHAN CLEAR 6
Strong first half and tries to throw everything possible at Queensland by playing the backfoot. Hard cookie to swallow Ben Hunt downloading the chip kick at the end.
16. JUNIOR PAULO 5.5
As the chief enforcer of the blues, set the tone from the first carry of the game. First stint outstanding. The opening carry of the second stint was dropped. Shuffled hard with NSW on the rear foot.
9. APISAI-KOROISAU 6
Like most blues, strong first half before being replaced midway through the second half. Hard planned, lots of quality but couldn’t stop the Maroons tidal wave.
10.JAKE TRBOJEVIC 6.5
Crawled extremely hard in midfield, especially when the blues were on the backfoot. Made 40 tackles.
11.CAMERON MURRAY N/A
12.LIAM MARTIN6
Heavily involved and doing much of the unsung cleanup. The heavier it got the more he enjoyed it, but it wasn’t for the blues.
13.ISAAH YEO 6
Made 41 tackles on defense but wasn’t as effective in terms of NSW attack fluency.
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8. JAKOB SAIFITI 6
Frantic display of opening carry when inserted into play to justify selection. Scored a great try to put NSW 12-6 ahead in the first half. Clearly shown can bypass the oven of the country of origin.
14. DAMIEN KOCH 5
Getting thrown midway through the second half with NSW on the backfoot was always a difficult task.
15.ANGUS CRICHTON6
Came on early when Cameron Murray was substituted in the first minute and worked overtime on the Blues’ left edge.
17. SIOSIFA TALAKAI 4
hard night Had some good moments initially going on in the second half but the penalty for misplaying the ball was a miss, as was carrying loose on the NSW line with the game balanced.
TOTAL: 88