There came a point during the State of Origin series opener on Wednesday night when New South Wales seemed finished.
Down by 20 points to nothing and playing at rain soaked, making mistakes in handling and having their forwards run them around like a rag doll, the Blues were in line for a hiding against their own fans.
That’s because what happened next is likely one of the greatest comebacks in the history of State of Origin.
James Tedesco produced an incredible try with 90 seconds left to give the NSW side a sensational victory, winning Game One of the 2026 Origin series 22-20 against Queensland.
Tedesco, who returned to the Blues after being axed in 2024 and hadn’t played an Origin match since, leaped above Hamiso Tabuai Fidow to catch a long bomb from Nathan Cleary close to the try line before touching down.
Cleary added the extras to seal the comeback victory.
Queensland secured their impressive lead via tries scored by Robert Toia, Thomas Flegler and Tabuai Fidow during the first quarter itself.
Poor handling by early players such as Brian To’o, Mitch Barnett and Stephen Crichton allowed the Maroon team to dominate, while a penalty goal from Sam Walker extended the Queensland team’s advantage to 20 points.
Also Read: Jalen Brunson leads the Knicks back to the NBA finals for the first time in 27 years
NSW only managed to score one try via Hudson Young and entered the break trailing the Queensland team 20 to 6.
Ponga, who had been one of Queensland’s most prolific players throughout the game, was given a red card for a shoulder charge on Tolutau Koula who unfortunately failed his head injury test post the match and could not continue any further.
With only twelve men left, the Maroons defence had to hold out for over 20 minutes under tough circumstances, but they nearly did so.
In the 62nd minute, new boy Ethan Strange opened the scoring for the Blues, while the Canberra Raiders five eighth made himself look like a man in the big leagues with an attacking game and strong defensive efforts in the latter half of the match.
Nonetheless, the Maroons fought hard and held off wave after wave of attack.
Tedesco fluffed an obvious try opportunity about 10 minutes from the end, and all seemed lost until the dying minutes.
As the clock ticked down and rain clouds threatened, Cleary sent up one last kick in the air.
Tedesco arrived perfectly timed, taking possession cleanly overhead of his rival Queenslander.
It was redemption of the sweetest kind for Tedesco, 33, with coach Laurie Daley picking up the Dally M Medallist at fullback ahead of Penrith’s Dylan Edwards, in a selection decision that divided many in the lead up to the game.
The Blues now lead the series 1 to 0 and head down to Melbourne for Game Two, while Billy Slater’s Queensland Maroons will need a win away from home if they hope to defend their premiership.
But those issues were not for tonight, and in Sydney the party reflected all that was right with their side.
