Threw the intercept pass to Val Holmes for the first try of the night. Made amends by scoring the try just before half time to give NSW the lead. Forced the ball loose from a tearaway Corey Oates at a crucial stage in the second half. A decent performance but not his best.

TOM TRBOJEVIC 8

Scored the runaway intercept try to wrestle momentum off Queensland before half time. Almost did it again on the end of a Josh Addo-Carr break late in the game. Ran for a whopping 235 metres, had five tackle breaks and a linebreak. One of NSW’s best.

LATRELL MITCHELL 6

Penalised for a shoulder charge on Billy Slater which almost led to a Queensland try in the third minute of the game. A bad defensive read on Slater in the second half led to a try. Made some big tackles on his opposite Will Chambers but errors cost him a better score.

JAMES ROBERTS 6.5

Defensively solid and made a couple of big important tackles to half Queensland. Ended up making a big 25 tackles. Couldn’t get into space to use his speed, as has been the problem all series.

JOSH ADDO-CARR 6.5

Some big carries out of his defensive half and ran for 150 metres. Threatened to break the game open late with a big break out of his own in-goal. A good effort from the winger.

JAMES MALONEY 5

A dumb decision to escort Billy Slater off the kick chase which got him sin binned before half time. He was lucky it didn’t lead to a Maroons try. A big defensive play to help NSW out of trouble late in the game. Then lost the ball when it looked like the Blues might score. Made five errors. Had a pass intercepted by Val Holmes late.

NATHAN CLEARY 6.5

Pulled off a great trysaving tackle on Corey Oates at a pressure moment in the first half. Was again huge in defence and made 25 tackles.

DAVID KLEMMER 7

Lasted about half an hour and ran four times for 42 metres, and made 18 tackles and a tackle bust. Spoiled a NSW try with a dumb trip on Ben Hunt in the 65th minute. All up ran for 107 metres and made 28 tackles.

DAMIEN COOK 7.5

Made a great break up the middle of the ground which should have led to an early NRL try. Put James Tedesco over just before half time with a beautiful short ball from dummy half. Brushed off by Cameron Munster when Queensland scored the second try of the second half.

PAUL VAUGHAN 4

Forced a Maroons error at a crucial time with a big shot on Jai Arrow early on. Came off after about 20 minutes with one run for 14 metres under his belt.

BOYD CORDNER 7.5

Came off after 62 minutes of hard work battling through a calf injury. The skipper was one of NSW’s best, taking 11 hit-ups for 91 metres and making 21 tackles.

TYSON FRIZELL 6.5

Left the field after 26 minutes with two runs and 18 tackles. Finished the night with 68 metres and 28 tackles to his name. Didn’t do anything too outstanding but was solid enough.

JAKE TRBOJEVIC 7.5

Some big, hard tackles early in the game when Queensland was dominant. Ended up making a whopping 43 tackles and ran for 88 metres. Bizarrely finished the night on the bench.

TARIQ SIMS 7

First man off the bench after about 20 minutes. Gave away a bizarre penalty — tackling the marker for some reason — which led to a Maroons try in the second half. Apart from that mistake he was good on debut.

ANGUS CRICHTON 6.5

Came on for Tyson Frizell after 26 minutes. Had the chance to put James Roberts away in the second half but threw the ball into touch instead. Had three offloads and two tackle breaks.

TYRONE PEACHEY 5.5

Entered play after 62 minutes, replacing Boyd Cordner on the left edge. Looked one of the more dangerous players in the dying minutes but couldn’t pierce the defence.

JACK DE BELIN 6

Benched pre-game. Entered play when David Klemmer went off after about half an hour. Made some big tackles and was tough again but didn’t have the same impact as the first two games.