Sam Walker has taken over the overall lead of Zero Tackle's State of Origin MVP ahead of teammates Selwyn Cobbo and Cameron Munster after the Maroons thumped the Blues in Game 2 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Wednesday evening.
Our panel were split on who should have been at the top, with Cameron Munster, Sam Walker and Selwyn Cobbo all being voted in top spot by at least one judge.
All three of those players came in for heavy votes, although Walker didn't feature on all four lists, while Harry Grant also featured on three of the four judges' lists.
Kalyn Ponga, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Max Plath were the other Queensland players to gain votes.
Mark Nawaqanitawase, who scored a double on debut, was the only Blue to receive any votes.
With the leader Walker sitting on 22 votes, it means anyone on 2 or more votes can still win the title overall, leaving all of Munster, Selwyn Cobbo, Ethan Strange, Nathan Cleary, Harry Grant, James Tedesco, Kalyn Ponga, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Cameron Murray and Max Plath officially in the mix.
For each game of the 2026 State of Origin series, our voting panel consisting of Zero Tackle founder Matt Clements, journalist and writers Leo Twemlow and Dan Nichols, and me as editor, will vote on the games on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis to determine the State of Origin MVP.
Here are all the votes for Game 2 and the overall leaderboard after the first two games of the series.
Matt Clements
5. Cameron Munster (Queensland Maroons)
4. Selwyn Cobbo (Queensland Maroons)
3. Sam Walker (Queensland Maroons)
2. Harry Grant (Queensland Maroons)
1. Kalyn Ponga (Queensland Maroons)
Dan Nichols
5. Selwyn Cobbo (Queensland Maroons)
4. Cameron Munster (Queensland Maroons)
3. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow (Queensland Maroons)
2. Kalyn Ponga (Queensland Maroons)
1. Mark Nawaqanitawase (New South Wales Blues)
Scott Pryde
5. Cameron Munster (Queensland Maroons)
4. Selwyn Cobbo (Queensland Maroons)
3. Harry Grant (Queensland Maroons)
2. Sam Walker (Queensland Maroons)
1. Max Plath (Queensland Maroons)
Leo Twemlow
5. Sam Walker (Queensland Maroons)
4. Harry Grant (Queensland Maroons)
3. Cameron Munster (Queensland Maroons)
2. Selwyn Cobbo (Queensland Maroons)
1. Max Plath (Queensland Maroons)
Full leaderboard
Sam Walker - 22 votes
Selwyn Cobbo - 19 votes
Cameron Munster - 19 votes
Ethan Strange - 18 votes
Nathan Cleary - 15 votes
Harry Grant - 9 votes
James Tedesco - 5 votes
Kalyn Ponga - 3 votes
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow - 3 votes
Cameron Murray - 2 votes
Max Plath - 2 votes
Mark Nawaqanitawase 1 votes
Victor Radley - 1 vote
Hudson Young - 1 vote
