Teddy unstoppable in man of the match
Even without Brad Fittler's new extra-snug NSW jerseys, Queensland never stood a chance stopping James Tedesco.
The NSW fullback was the deserved man of the match as he scored a try and set up another two.
As he ran for 221m and made 12 tackle busts, Tedesco said the Maroons had struggled to properly grab him and his mates because of Fittler's jerseys.
"I thanked Freddy for the tight jerseys, he got us fitted for them to be tighter,'' Tedesco said after the game.
"It helped. They couldn't grab the jerseys. The boys benefited from it.
"It's just awesome to get the win in front of this massive crowd.
"We're a young team. It was a great performance by everyone.''
Tedesco was the only Blues player in the back five with Origin experience, and he led the way as Josh Addo-Carr, Latrell Mitchell, Tom Trbojevic and to a lesser extent James Roberts all played superb support acts.
Tedesco raced down field in the second half to eventually lay on Addo-Carr's try, and was never going to be stopped in the first half when he loomed on the inside of James Maloney to dive over.
Coach Brad Fittler said Tedesco and the few experienced players in his team needed to stand up, and they did.
"If they don't play the role they did, the others don't get the same confidence, and our senior players, although we only had a few of them, were outstanding,'' Fittler said.
Fittler said Tedesco was his fullback way back in November when team lists started getting tossed around.
Blues skipper Boyd Cordner, who has welcomed the chance to play with Tedesco every week this season at the Sydney Roosters, said of the gun No. 1: "I think he's been one of the best players at Roosters.
"I was so confident with him being fullback tonight. He turns up every week for the Roosters, and he's already proven on this stage before how dangerous he can be. I knew he'd have a big game.''
Living up to the whopping price tag Sydney Roosters supremo Nick Politis paid for him, Tedesco was the difference in the game, according to Maroons coach Kevin Walters.
"He was pretty special,'' Walters said.
"He showed his class in the match and that was probably the difference.
"He was the best for NSW and Greg was our best player - if we had 17 Greg Inglis' we probably would have won that game. Unfortunately we only had one.''
Tedesco had a sluggish start at his new club, and there was even talk Trbojevic could even pinch his fullback jersey.
But Tedesco will pose the Maroons' biggest headache for years to come - and is destined to become the new owner of the Kangaroos' No. 1 jersey.