The Origin of happiness can be found in a Blues win

May 28, 2026 — 4:18pm

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“You can take the Queenslander out of Queensland, but you can’t take the Queensland out of the Queenslander” has been the battle cry that has echoed down the years of State of Origin.

It was silenced on Wednesday night when NSW knocked the breath out of Queensland with an astounding 22-20 victory that was a privilege to witness and the stuff of legend.

In the greatest comeback in State of Origin history, NSW was dead and buried but turned around a 20-point deficit to win 22-20 after the game erupted following the sending-off of Maroon Kalyn Ponga. In a thrilling second half, halfback Nathan Cleary put a bomb up into the rainy heavens in a great endgame play that set up James Tedesco to level the scores in the dying minutes. Cleary’s conversion won the night.