The State of Origin series for 2026 has been decided, with the NSW Blues notching up a famous victory at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday evening.
In a game they dominated from start to finish, the Blues ultimately kicked clear with an 18-point win against a very uncharacteristic Queensland outfit.
By the time it was all said and done, the final minutes were nothing more than a procession.
Refereeing controversy will be on the agenda following this game, but so too will be the future of multiple players and both coaches.
Here are all the big talking points out of Game 2.
Show us the footage
Did Jack Bostock touch the football?
The footage shown on the broadcast of the game in Brisbane seemed to indicate he did. The way the ball was going changed, and his finger flexed as the ball went past.
They are obvious signs that yes, the ball was knocked on by Robert Toia in the air first, but it also touched off the finger of Jack Bostock before Bradman Best latched onto it in space and ran away to score.
Somehow, based on the footage shown, Chris Butler in the bunker decided that it was a try for Best - and in a critical moment of the game.
Fans, and it didn't matter which state they were from, couldn't fathom the decision.
Here at Zero Tackle, the entire editorial team would identify as NSW fans, yet no one could understand why a try was awarded.
Minutes later, the broadcast indicated the bunker was viewing footage from a corner-post camera apparently showing Bostock not touching the ball.
The issue?
We never saw it.
In the showpiece event of a game that has just signed a $5 billion - yes, billion - TV deal, the footage that proves the fans are wrong isn't shown. Can't be shown. Won't be shown.
Whatever the reason, it's not good enough and is a black eye for the NRL on one of the biggest nights of the season.
Did Queensland read their own press?
Queensland's attitude in the decider looked all wrong.
It might seem a weird thing to say, but Queensland's effort in key areas of the game, their work rate in defence, and their ball-handling in attack were all atrocious.
In the end, that is what cost them any chance at going against the Blues, who put in a fantastic performance, and by far their best of the series.
Queensland, who had it all their own way in Game 2, just lost in all the key areas to the Blues throughout the decider and at times played as if all they had to do to win was turn up.
Obviously, that's not the mentality they would have preached in camp all week, but that is how the game played out.
What now for Laurie Daley?
Laurie Daley needs to be commended for the success in Game 3.
Whether it was his strategy, his staff, or his senior players, he ultimately lives and dies by the way his side plays.
Game 2 saw the Blues play side-to-side without direction and were far too rigid in their structure.
Game 3 freed up his players. They played up the middle. Payne Haas looked like an Origin player again, Cameron Murray was excellent, Isaah Yeo had his best game of the series, and with more time and space, we all know exactly what sort of game Nathan Cleary put together.
But it wasn't just that.
In Game 2, Harry Grant tore the Blues in half and only made 30 tackles. In Game 3, the Blues forced him to make 53 tackles, and his impact diminished.
Cameron Munster had to make 35 tackle attempts, missing 10. Sam Walker did plenty of defending.
Ultimately, the Blues attacking the chief destroyers with their own attack blunted Queensland's, and add that to the sloppy ball handling of Queensland - that was more than enough to flip the script of the series.
Laurie Daley, on the back of it, can now decide what he wants to do. If he wants another series, it's probably his, but he won't be sacked.
Is Cameron Munster on the way out at Origin level, and what other changes do Queensland need?
Cameron Munster certainly wasn't at his best, along with the rest of his teammates, to be fair, in Game 3 of the series.
But the issue now is that Munster is closer to the end of his career than the start and hasn't had his usual form with the Storm this year.
He is a player who relies on explosiveness and a running game, and it is expected that this style will be harder to carry out in the final stages of his career.
Given Queensland have Sam Walker, who was poor in Game 3 but excellent in the first two games, and Tom Dearden, there is a very real argument to say the current Queensland captain might be done as an Origin player.
Maybe there is a role for him on the bench next year.
If Munster is axed, he won't be the only one.
Queensland will almost certainly look at other changes. Kurt Capewell had a stinker in Game 3 and, with Kulikefu Finefeuiaki, Beau Fermor and Heilum Luki around, must be finished in this arena.
Meanwhile, Trent Loiero also added very little off the bench for most of the series.
In the backline, Xavier Coates is a walk-up starter, and Murray Taulagi could be similar if he finds his best form.
Has Nathan Cleary cemented his legacy?
Coming into the game, and for as long as you can remember, the commentary had been around Nathan Cleary needing to cement his legacy at Origin level.
Without performances like the one he put together on Wednesday evening, he couldn't possibly be considered one of the greatest players of all time, despite his four premierships as a halfback with the Penrith Panthers.
Well, Wednesday night proved he does, in fact, have the stones to get the job done in an Origin decider.
He has not only thrown that particular monkey off his back, but also has a Wally Lewis Medal to go with it.
His performance was close to perfect, his combination with Mitchell Moses worked, and just maybe, the strategy the Blues built was the catalyst behind it all.
Origin stadiums shouldn't be used the week before a game
A quick one to finish, but the turf in Brisbane was awful on Wednesday.
In a similar way to the footage equation in the opening period of this piece, there is absolutely no way the Suncorp Stadium turf in the condition it was in should have been used as the pinnacle of the game.
I know Suncorp Stadium hosts Magic Round and the ground holds up all right, but for whatever reason, the turf on Wednesday looked as bad, if not worse, than it does in Game 8 of Magic Round.
It was deplorable. Players were slipping in every direction throughout the contest.
Why Suncorp Stadium hosted a game on Saturday evening is beyond me.
