Queensland defeated New South Wales 28-18 in the opening match of the 2009 State of Origin series in Melbourne.
Inglis bags a brace to help Maroons move a step closer to making history
Queensland held off a brave comeback bid from New South Wales to win the 2009 State of Origin opener 28-18 in Melbourne.
Greg Inglis crossed twice at the Etihad Stadium to help the Maroons move a step closer to creating history with a fourth successive series triumph - a feat never achieved before.
The Blues did their best to prevent their rivals going 1-0 up in the best-of-three series having at one stage fallen 18-2 behind in the first half.
Tries from Craig Wing and Jarryd Hayne saw the underdogs threaten a recovery before Darius Boyd's late effort sealed the result for Queensland.
Brutal burst
Mal Meninga's side had laid the platform for their victory with a brutal burst that saw them score three tries in the space of seven first-half minutes.
Having fallen behind to an early Kurt Gidley penalty, the Maroons moved in front when Billy Slater spectacularly dived on Cameron Smith's grubber before the ball ran dead.
Inglis' first followed soon after before Johnathan Thurston started and finished a flowing move that left New South Wales with a mountain to climb.
The Blues received a ray of hope when Hayne, who had earlier seen a try harshly ruled out by the television official, set up Ben Creagh by launching the ball back inside before he was pushed into touch.
The winger's pass looked forward but the referee allowed play to go on, leaving Creagh with the simple task of dropping on the loose ball.
Trailing 18-6 at the break, New South Wales were dealt a major blow at the start of the second half when Inglis charged over after just two minutes.
Good fortune
However, the Blues refused to give in and two moments of good fortune allowed them to get within six points of their opponents.
Firstly a fortunate bounce led to sub Wing going over and then a kick from Robbie Farah clipped a Queensland defender and fell kindly back into the path of the hooker, who set Hayne scampering away between the posts.
In the end, though, the Blues - fielding seven Origin debutants - were unable to get back on level terms, meaning they must win game two at the Olympic Stadium in Sydney on June 24 to stay alive in the series.
A knock-on from skipper Gidley in the final minute ended their hopes and from the resulting scrum Inglis set up winger Boyd for an easy run-in.
