With their 22-12 win on Wednesday night, the QLD Maroons once again took possession of the Shield. It capped off one of the most newsworthy Origin series in recent memory.
Across both the male and female games, across multiple age levels, New South Wales and Queensland put on a show.
Below are 20 thoughts, opinions or takeaways across the Origin series. Please keep in mind these are just quick opinions and not to be treated as gospel.
1. We've heard it for decades and NSW players and officials argue it vigorously but Origin means more to the Maroons. Origin is famous for underdog QLD victories. NSW have lost so many series they should have walked in. NSW, as underdogs, lost multiple series in a row. Turbo and Latrell were the difference in 2021 but with both missing it came down to passion and QLD have it in spades.
2. With his Game Three heroics, Daly Cherry Evans confirmed he is the Kangaroos' number seven come the World Cup. DCE cops a massive amount of unfair criticism considering how many big wins he has to his name.
3. I'll cop grief for this but I honestly don't care; Nathan Cleary isn't yet the superstar we all believed him to be. He's a great NRL halfback but he is yet to deliver on the biggest stage with any consistency. He was great in Game Two, when his forwards rolled QLD. With the Blues forwards on the back foot in the decider he failed to step up like Cameron Munster did in Game One. He was the third-best halfback on the field behind DCE and Ben Hunt. I'd argue Dearden outplayed him also. His time will come but he fell short when it mattered most.
4. I like the new series format of a game in each state and one game in neutral territory. Be it Perth, Canberra, Adelaide or even New Zealand, a rotating neutral game is a great idea.
5. As fun as Origin is, it is way too disruptive to the NRL competition, especially with the ridiculous scrapping of rep round and the Sunday night Game Two. Two weeks between games is more than enough. If they want to play it across three Wednesdays, so be it, but broadcasters will surely not go for four games (or less) across three straight weeks.
6. I have no idea why Brad Fittler picked Siosifa Talakai. Judging by the way he was used in Games Two and Three, neither did Fittler himself. Talakai was thrown in with no role on Wednesday night and overplayed his hand, became exhausted early and missed a tackle to allow Ponga to score. He always felt like a luxury pick but with an early injury to Cam Murray, Talakai was forced into a position he has only ever played out of necessity.
7. The Women's Origin Series is set to expand to two games next season. I absolutely agree it needs to move beyond the one game, however expanding it to two games makes no sense at all. For the record, if New South Wales win Game One next year, they retain the shield they won in 2022. Queensland would need to win both games to capture the series and the Shield. I don't like the idea of aggregate score-lines due to multiple circumstances so either expand it to three games or leave it as the one-off.
8. I'm a huge fan of big hits and I love the passion of Origin but the Gagai/Burton biff was not good for the game. Tino Fa'asuamaleaui running in and holding Burton as Gagai threw punches was sickening. Tino should have been sin-binned earlier for a swinging arm. The head knocks were largely accidental but there's nothing tough about standing over a concussed player.
9. It's become a running joke but the 8:10pm kick-off time is too late. I get it, the more pre-game the higher the ratings etc, but why can't the coverage start at 7:00pm with a 7:40pm kick-off?
10. Brad Fittler has surely coached his last Origin Series. I understand he has wins to his name but he lost 2020 and 2022 Series, both as the shortest-priced favourites. His selections all Series have been head-scratchers. He was outcoached by a rookie.
11. He had that late brain snap this past weekend but the fact David Klemmer seems to be no longer in the Origin mix is stunning. He should have started Game Three with Paulo coming off the bench with Talakai dropping off.
12. 2022 was the Origin making of Kalyn Ponga. For mine he was player of the match in the decider and was in the top three players across the entire series. Hopefully for the Knights' sake he can carry on his ridiculous form back into clubland.
13. In the pre-season Tom Dearden wasn't even guaranteed a spot in the Cowboys halves. Townsend was brought in to play halfback while Scott Drinkwater looked the option at five-eighth. He now has an Origin decider win to his name. Yet another incredible Rugby League story.
14. Talking of incredible stories, Ben Hunt! I've long been a very vocal fan of the Dragons halfback but he has now well and truly buried any demons of the past. As a Blue it was hard to watch him run away and score the series-sealing try but even before that he was near perfect. That 40/20 was massive.
15. Josh Addo-Carr should have played in all three games. I said it before the Series and I say it now. You cannot teach genuine, game-breaking speed.
16. Patrick Carrigan may be the most improved player in the competition. Named Player of the Series was just reward for a player who was once known purely for SuperCoach scores. He has become an absolute monster in the middle for both club and state. My guess is he'll add country to that too.
17. State of Origin ratings are entirely subjective and if someone rates a player an "8" when you believe it should have been a "7" then he or she doesn't deserve to be accused of "never watching Rugby League".
18. The Origin bench is arguably becoming as important as the run-on side. If you don't get your bench right then you're right on the back foot. Sounds obvious but in years gone by it was all about the run-on side. Now I look at the bench to judge the true strength of a side.
19. If I'm picking a Kangaroos strongest 17 now, only one Blue makes the spine - Tedesco. Latrell Mitchell will probably be the second Blue in the back seven. Wonder what odds you would have received for that in the pre-season.
20. Truthfully I am glad Origin is over for another year. It's a massive distraction from the competition, dominates discussion from the early rounds and limits multiple weeks to just four games. I always enjoy the series but am happy it's all NRL from here out.
