New South Wales are the 2026 State of Origin champions after beating Queensland 30-12 in Wednesday night's decider at Suncorp Stadium, taking the series 2-1. Nathan Cleary scored two tries, kicked five goals and finished with the Wally Lewis Medal as player of the series.
Cleary's double came alongside tries to Cameron Murray, Bradman Best and Hudson Young in front of 52,452. Queensland's points came through Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Selwyn Cobbo and Jojo Fifita, but the Maroons missed all three of their shots at goal.
The win carried a cost for the Blues. James Tedesco and debutant winger Jack Bostock both went off for head injury assessments and did not return, AAP reported.
“We understand that comes with scrutiny when you don't perform like you'd want to, but ultimately you win, it silences everything," NSW captain Isaah Yeo said. Cleary, whose 36 points led all scorers across the three games, put the result down to a squad that closed ranks. "We were written off. We came together as a group and rallied around each other," he said.”
Queensland coach Billy Slater did not reach for excuses. "We just weren't quite good enough tonight. I thought there was a fair bit of heart and we never gave up," he said. Cobbo's four tries made him the series' top try scorer, thin consolation in a decider Queensland lost by 18 at home.
The series had swung both ways before Wednesday. NSW came from 14 points down to win Game 1 in Sydney after Kalyn Ponga was sent off, and Queensland answered with a 44-24 win in Game 2 in front of a record Origin crowd of 91,671 at the MCG. The decider had no such swing in it. The shield returns to New South Wales, and Cleary, written off in May, leaves Brisbane with the medal and the last word.
