Selwyn Cobbo scored a second-half hat-trick as Queensland leveled the 2026 State of Origin series with a thumping 44-24 win over New South Wales at the MCG to set up a mouth-watering decider in Brisbane on July 8. Sky Sports live broadcast.
Similar to the 2025 series, Queensland bounced back from a crushing loss to New South Wales in Game 1, but as usual they cannot completely dominate Cameron Munster’s side. That’s because he scored six tries in a dominant second half performance that stunned the Blues.
It was a much different story in the first 40 minutes for New South Wales, who were riding high after a stunning comeback in the first leg thanks to tries from Kotoni Staggs and Mark Nawaqanitawase, who scored twice on his Origin debut at the MCG.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Players brawled after a huge hit between the New South Wales Blues and Queensland Maroons in the State of Origin game.
Munster was excellent throughout and showed off his superb handling ability to fire a one-handed pass to Sam Walker. Sam Walker assisted Trent Loiero in his side’s first game of the game to keep the deficit to just four points by half-time.
But with the Blues at full strength, the match that followed will surely be regarded as one of Queensland’s greatest comebacks in State of Origin history. The Maroons snuffed out their opposition’s momentum with a resounding victory, scoring six tries in the second half.
“They started better than us tonight,” Maroons captain Munster told Nine.
“But I like the way we dug deep at the end of the game and played our best football. We’re in Brisbane for the decider!
Queensland defeated New South Wales to win State of Origin Game 2 at the MCG and level the series at 1–1.
“I had so much faith in this group, but the simpler the game plan, the simpler the mentality, and we did that tonight.
“We dug a little deeper than we needed to, and that was enough.
Munster, who had to spend the second half on the bench after being assessed for a head injury, added: “I saw we were going deep at the end of the first half and I knew we had a chance.”
The Maroons looked completely different in the second half. Cobbo scored two goals in the first 11 minutes.
The Dolphins’ outside back took advantage of his first-time skipper’s brilliant cross-field kick to slip in for Queensland’s first of the second term.
New South Wales players celebrate at State of Origin Game 2.
A few minutes later, Kalyn Ponga produced some beautiful, quick hands to put Cobbo in the corner, but there was still a lot of work to be done. Cobbo fended off two Blues defenders before reaching the line and kept his feet to score again.
The poor performance of Rory Daley, who led the game brilliantly in the first 20 minutes, was disappointing.
Jojo Fifita struggled under high balls, showing off his incredible athleticism to touch down past Brian To’o in the 55th minute.
But it wasn’t all doom and gloom for the Blues. Nawaqanitawase gained some momentum by beating three defenders for a touchdown in the corner, but it wasn’t enough to slow down the Maroons, who responded almost immediately.
As his frustration grew, Staggs was sent to the prison bin and reported for a high tackle on Ponga.
Given Ponga’s red card in the first game, Staggs was lucky not to have received a harsher punishment. The Brisbane center hit Ponga on the head with his shoulder, but it was Ponga who had the last laugh.
Kotoni Staggs was sent to the sin bin for a high tackle on Queensland’s Kalyn Ponga.
Just before the tackle, the Newcastle Knights full-back passed the ball to Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, who then passed Cobbo on the wing. Cobbo cut a cute grubber through the defense and Tabuai-Fidow finished the move to score the Maroons’ fourth try of the second half.
Things got worse for the Blues when the man went down. Harry Grant sniped past Nathan Cleary at dummy half before pounced on Lindsay Collins to keep the scores on the scoreboard.
New South Wales’ Mitchell Barnett added another for Laurie Daley’s side but it was too late and Cobbo scored again from a corner to complete a 20-point win.
Tedesco: The Maroons showed more passion.
Blunt New South Wales captain James Tedesco admitted Queensland outplayed his side on several fronts in the second half.
“We weren’t good enough at the beginning of the second half,” Tedesco said.
“They came out with a lot and gave us everything they had.
“It’s disappointing, but we now have a decision maker at Suncorp.
“I think we got too excited. They lost the first game and had a lot to lose tonight.”
“They were more enthusiastic than us in many areas, so that’s something we need to look at.”
WALKER: We have work to do.
Walker was in perfect form on Wednesday, completing seven conversions, including several difficult shots from the touchline, and was awarded the Player of the Year award for his performance.
“I think it’s really special,” Walker said. “I’m more than happy about the win and it’s probably not settled yet, but in the end it’s going to be a very nice thing.
“But for now, I have work to do in the next few weeks.
“I think we were working really hard. Munny (Munster) started off with a knock on the head, maybe I didn’t kick us into a good enough position, but with Munster coming back it put us in a better position and earned the right to play better football.
“I thought the first 20 minutes of the second half were a really good start.”
What’s next?
Queensland will retain their State of Origin title at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Wednesday 8 July.
Watch the final match of the series live on Sky Sports and NOW. The broadcast begins at 10 am. No Sky? Access or stream Sky Sports with no contract
