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Posted: 2022-06-08 12:42:33

Under the blanket of a deafening roar at Stadium Australia, Queensland and New South Wales put on a match for the ages to open the 2022 State of Origin series.

It was rough, it was ready, it was a mix of exhilarating attack and desperate defence, and it was exactly what we all hoped for to open the series.

Pure rugby league magic.

From Jack Wighton's opener to Cameron Munster dancing his way further in Queensland hearts, these were the five big moments that stole the spotlight.

14th minute: A Wighton Christmas

After Xavier Coates went a whisker away from cutting one off and running it back — but knocking it on instead — New South Wales got the ball back and executed slickly.

Damien Cook started it by zinging a ball from dummy half to Nathan Cleary, who passed it on to old mate Jarome Luai, who then got it to Wighton.

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Wighton duly split the Maroons defence, proving once and for all that any debate over him starting at centre was wasted air.

"Just watch the pass from Damien Cook. It is like a bullet," Blues legend Andrew Johns said.

"And he gets across three Queensland defenders and creates space on the outside."

In an opener where it wasn't clear which team had the ascendancy, it's a moment of tension relief for the Stadium Australia crowd.

30th minute: The Coates that rocked

As the Maroons looked to recover from the early try, high-flyer Coates gets his ankle stuck under a tackle in 'look away if you're at all queasy' sort of way.

While the Storm attacking machine thankfully managed to pick himself up off the turf, he limped around like a geriatric for a while before collapsing on the sidelines.

A man in maroon lies on the ground and looks at a trainer while in obvious pain.
Xavier Coates lies on the sidelines as the Maroons trainer attends to him. The Queensland star came off the field after getting his ankle caught under a tackle.(Getty Images: Cameron Spencer)

At the 30th minute, the call is finally made — Coates is cooked.

He limps into the tunnel and the Queenslanders lose an attacking weapon for the rest of the match.

38th minute: The debutant ball

With the doctors still in the process of checking that parts of Coates's ankle hadn't been left in the Sydney turf, Queensland had to turn elsewhere for attacking inspiration — and it came in the form of debutant Selwyn Cobbo.

The lad from Cherbourg — whose story was told beautifully in this piece for ABC Sport — showed the poise of a veteran after getting on the end of a slightly sloppy Kalyn Ponga pass.

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Tip-toeing down the sideline with the feet of a dancer, Cobbo just avoided a diving Luai tackle to get a deft kick away into the path of Origin specialist Dane Gagai.

The try is Gagai's 12th in Maroons colours to put him in equal-third for the most tries scored for Queensland, joining Billy Slater and Dale Shearer, and more importantly puts the team in front heading into the half.

47th minute: The Munster mash

With the Blues starting the half looking the more dangerous of the two teams, the Maroons go on the attack but stall about halfway down the field.

Enter Cameron Munster.

Cameron Munster break
Cameron Munster breaks through the defensive line of the Blues, setting up an attack that would lead to a crucial Maroons try.(Getty Images: Mark Kolbe)

The Storm superstar dodges, dips, ducks, dives and dodges around the the Blues defence to tear them apart, powering through the guts of the ground and making a crucial break.

While he is unable to either go himself or offload to one of his Maroon mates, it puts New South Wales on the back foot. They end up giving the ball up to a scrum, which Daly Cherry-Evans takes advantage of to score the crucial opening try of the half.

Later, Munster will strip the ball off the Blues in the 73rd minute as they ride a wave of momentum off the back of a Cameron Murray try. It might just be the match-saver in a stunning performance from the magician.

53rd minute: King Kalyn reigns again

With all the momentum going in favour of the Maroons, Ponga provides a reminder of why he belongs in a Maroon jersey.

Getting on the end of a Harry Grant pass, Ponga dances forward and looks out wide. He could take the safe option of laying it off to Kurt Capewell, but decides to go further, very much risking it for the biscuit.

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Valentine Holmes gets on the end of a pass and scores, joining Alfie Langer on 10 tries for his state.

It provides the buffer the Maroons need to see the Blues off and takes Queensland to a crucial opening game victory.

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