State of Origin 2019: How the players rated in Game One

New South Wales

James Tedesco: Set up the opener and looked dangerous every time he had the ball in the first half - but then spilled two kicks after the break, leading to tries. 7/10
Nick Cotric: A relatively quiet game for the debutant - some powerful early runs but simply didn't get enough touches to stamp any authority on the contest. 6
Latrell Mitchell: One of the game's greats at his best, but this was not his day. Poor in defence and sent to the sin bin in the second half after a brain explosion. 3
Josh Morris: Looked like the Josh Morris of ten years ago in the opening 20 minutes, trampling opponents and grabbing the opening try. 7
Josh Addo-Carr: Saved a try late in the half from a Queensland scrum and was generally excellent in cover defence - didn't get the chance to do much on the other side of the ball. 7
Cody Walker: Struggled to click with his new teammates on the left edge, and didn't get enough ball in open space - but had a nice exchange with Murray late on for the Trbojevic try. 6
Nathan Cleary: A few kicks found the Maroons' back three on the full, and deferred far too much playmaking to his hooker and fullback. 5
David Klemmer: Set the platform the Blues' pack, particularly in a first half where he played the entire 40 minutes. They missed him late on. 8
Damien Cook: Ran the ball at will, creating a couple of breaks and plenty of nerves in the Queensland defence, as well as a few smart kicks. 7.5
Paul Vaughan: Another solid performance in the engine room, barely put a foot wrong despite his team being on the back foot for most of the forward battle. 7
Boyd Cordner: Got hammered a few times as the team struggled to get any space on the left edge, but once again worked tirelessly on both sides of the ball. 6.5
Tyson Frizell: Put some hits on early and ran hard in both of his stints. The team lacked his steel in the line during his lengthy absence. 7
Jake Trbojevic: Not nearly enough minutes for the Manly lock - gives the Blues a bit of ball playing in the middle, and you have to wonder why he was off the field for so long. 7.5
Jack Wighton: Looked lively with his first few touches after coming on, before throwing that game-breaking intercept. Heartbreak on debut. 5
Payne Haas: A huge stint off the bench for the Broncos youngster, justifying Brad Fittler's faith in the teenager. 7.5
Cameron Murray: One bad error near the Queensland line, but showed promise in his runs and some great energy in defence as well as a try assist. 7.5
Angus Crichton: Plenty of minutes but couldn't get over the advantage line with most of his carries. 5.5

Queensland

Kalyn Ponga: The electrifying fullback thrives off early ball but didn’t get enough of it early. When he did? NSW looked all at sea. 7.5/10
Corey Oates: What do you do when a superhuman effort comes to no avail? Produce another with a superb try to get the hosts on the board. 6.5
Michael Morgan: Battled to contain returning Blues veteran Josh Morris. 4
Will Chambers: Finally got the better of his sparring partner Latrell Mitchell but left to rue two bombed tries. 6
Dane Gagai: What else would you expect from this man in a Maroons jersey? Came up with the match-winner and bagged another. 8
Cameron Munster: One of Queensland’s best as he took on the Blues’ line but struggled to find cohesion with Ponga early on. 8
Daly Cherry-Evans: The Queensland skipper hadn’t played a game since April but looked at home as he created plenty of opportunities. 7
Jai Arrow: Struggled to make an impact early but made a solid contribution late in the contest. 5.5
Ben Hunt: Delivered what was effectively a 40-20 out of dummy-half, got through a mountain of work in defence, and came to life in the second half. 7.5
Josh Papalii: Queensland needed someone to set the tone in defence to start the second term and they found their man in Papalii. 7
Felise Kaufusi: Came up with some crucial tackles in the opening stanza and ran for over 100 metres. 6.5
Matt Gillett: Quiet in attack but got through plenty of work in defence. 5.5
Josh McGuire: More than held his own to help Queensland gain the ascendancy in the middle. 5.5
Moses Mbye: Tasted just seven minutes with the hosts already in the box seat. 5
Joe Ofahengaue: Racked up 113 metres in 33 minutes before a deep gash on his knee brought his night to an end. 7
Dylan Napa: Seemed to score Queensland’s first before it was knocked back, didn’t make a huge impact. 5.5
David Fifita: Broke two tackles and came up with three offloads to get Queensland moving forward. 6