Megan Wellens
Sports Journalist @MegWellensX
State of Origin: Queensland hold off New South Wales comeback for 26-24 victory to keep series alive
Queensland had a 26-6 half-time lead after fantastic first 40; New South Wales scored four tries in second half but three missed conversions from Zac Loma cost them victory and series win; Sky Sports will show every game of Super League live this season
Last Updated: 19/06/25 7:20am
Queensland held on for a dramatic 26-24 victory over New South Wales in game two of State of Origin to level the series at 1-1 at the Optus Stadium in Perth.
Despite coming into the contest under pressure, it was Queensland who had a dominant half-time lead thanks to an incredible 40 minutes of rugby, a double from Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow plus converted tries from Cameron Munster and Kurt Capewell, plus a Valentine Holmes penalty conversion getting their 26 points on the board.
New South Wales had got on the scoreboard first through a converted Brian To'o effort but from then on had their backs to the wall and a big deficit to make up in the second half.
A massive comeback was needed and the Blues nearly pulled it off as two more tries from To'o, a score from Stephen Crichton, plus a converted effort from Angus Crichton saw them score 18 unanswered points.
However, three missed conversions from Zac Lomax cost them and the Maroons just about held on for the two-point win to set up a series decider in Sydney on July 9, live on Sky Sports.
New South Wales power back as Queensland drag win over the line
In front of a sold-out Optus Stadium, it was New South Wales who opened their account first on the eighth minute following a Jerome Luai grubber, the ball bobbling and eventually bouncing best for To'o in the corner, Lomax converting for a 6-0 lead.
However, it was not long until Queensland had got on the board twice in quick succession through Tabuai-Fidow. It was Latrell Mitchell who was skirted around to send the winger over for the first, then the winger leapt highest to take in a Tom Dearden crossfield kick, Holmes adding the extras for both to give Queensland the 12-6 lead after 20 minutes.
The Maroons then managed to extend their advantage after Lomax was pinged for an elbow on Trent Liero, Holmes' kick bringing the score to 14-6 with 10 minutes left in the first half.
With the rain absolutely hammering down and Queensland's confidence up, it was not long until they had more points on the board. Munster ran a great flat line that saw him barrel over, Holmes accurate once again to put his side 20-6 up, a converted effort through Capewell seeing them take in a dominant 26-6 lead at the half-time break.
However, the second half was all New South Wales as they scored 18 unanswered points. Nice hands from Cleary, Luai, and Mitchell sent To'o over for his second in the corner for an unconverted try.
They went through hands once again with just over 60 minutes on the clock in an all-Penrith move for Crichton to show his power and speed to reach over on the edge, Lomax's conversion bouncing off the post.
With just two converted tries separating the teams, brilliant attacking play on the edge once again sent To'o over for his hat-trick in the corner but Lomax missed a third and the key conversion, the scoreline finely poised at 26-18 with 14 minutes on the clock.
Despite the lack of conversions, the sustained pressure from the Blues paid dividends and a lovely kick from Luai after back-to-back sets was picked up by Crichton, Lomax this time sending over the extras to make it a two-point game with seven minutes remaining.
The drama continued as Kalyn Ponga was judged to have knocked on following an unsuccessful Captain's Challenge which earnt New South Wales sustained pressure on the Maroons line but the Blues could not find the all-important two points they were searching for.
That allowed Queensland to drag the win over the line and take State of Origin 2025 to a series decider.
Munster: Being captain was 'everything you could imagine'
Queensland captain Cameron Munster:
"It was everything you could imagine.
"We had a really good first half then in the second half we just show ourselves in the foot.
"We kept turning up for each other and in the end we got the chocolates, but in Game Three we need to be a lot better in certain positions and you can't afford to give them piggybacks.
"I know we didn't deliver in Game One but our preparation was really good so we built on that in Game Two.
"I love playing with this group and there was a never say die attitude. Our backs were against the wall and that is what we love about it.
"Queenslanders love being underdogs and we still are."
Sky Sports will again show every game of Super League live this season - including two matches in each round exclusively live, with the remaining four matches each week shown on Sky Sports+ via the red button
