The Queensland Maroons will need to do it the hard way in the 2025 State of Origin series, with the New South Wales Blues breaking a nearly 30-year-old record at Suncorp Stadium in Game 1.
The last time the Blues won back-to-back games in Brisbane was in 1996 and 1997, but the record has been broken, with the Blues winning the decider last year at the Cauldron and then Game 1 this year.
It was all the Blues in the first half of the Origin opener for 2025, with the visitors going into the half-time break at 14 points to 2 up.
AS IT HAPPENED: LIVE BLOG, ORIGIN 1
Queensland didn't help themselves with errors and silly penalties, and their discipline was also poor before missed tackles became the order of the day as the men from north of the Tweed went into the break having missed 30.
Dominating field position and possession of the football, the Blues ran on three tries in the 15 minutes before halftime after an exceptionally hard-fought start to the game from both sides.
Queensland always seemed on the back foot, and had to do a mountain of work, with possession and work rate difference eventually catching up with the men from north of the Tweed.
A break on the left in the 25th minute would set up Mitchell Moses for half a chance, before Laurie Daley's side shifted all the way to the left where Zac Lomax would cross for the opener.
Just a few minutes later, Harry Grant, who played maybe his worst half of Origin football to date, dropped the ball on halfway and the Blues made their rivals pay, with Brian To'o putting the ball down in the corner.
The Blues continued to stay on the front foot, and it would be Nathan Cleary and Dylan Edwards who managed to set up Lomax for his second try in the corner a few minutes later.
The Blues appeared as if they were going to go into halftime up 14 points to nil, only for Brian To'o to be ruled to have taken Xavier Coates in the air on the final play of the half.
He was sent to the sin bin to start the second stanza, with Valentine Holmes slotting a penalty goal to cut the lead to 12.
The Maroons were far better during the second half, and with the Blues disjointed and having missed three conversions in the first half, they were still in the contest.
Xavier Coates would find his way over the try-line to start the second half, and it breathed life back into the Maroons, but not for long, as errors and penalties continued to riddle their game.
Theย Bluesย had to defend their own line plenty through the closing stages of the game but managed to do just that before, on the back of more errors from theย Maroons, finding their way over the try line with a miraculous effort.
A kick to the corner saw Zac Lomax reach out with a miraculous grab. The ball then found its way to Connor Watson who came up with one of the great offloads to Dylan Edwards, and he would crash over with the match-winner.
The loss will leave Queensland with plenty of soul-searching to do heading to Perth for Game 2, where they must win to force a decider in Sydney, while the Blues, despite winning, will also need to find ways to fix their own attack.
Match summary
Queensland Maroons 6 (Try: Xavier Coates; Conversion: Valentine Holmes 0/1; Penalty Goals: Valentine Holmes 1/1) defeated by New South Wales Blues 18 (Tries: Zac Lomax [2], Brian To'o, Dylan Edwards; Conversions: Nathan Cleary 0/3, Zac Lomax 0/1, Penalty Goals: Nathan Cleary 1/1)
