State of Origin game two live blog: NSW fall agonisingly short of the greatest comeback ever as Queensland skipper has an X-rated TV moment

‘We had that mentality like the 1995 nobodies team and just kept working and turning up for each other,’ the skipper said, recalling coach Fatty Vautin’s miracle series win with the most unheralded Origin team ever.

‘We ended up getting the chocolates. But in game three, we need to be a lot better in certain positions.’

We won’t print the R-rated remark that Nine’s Sam Thaiday just skimmed over.

Good as that match was, both teams have a lot of improvement left in them. We definitely haven’t seen either side turn in a complete performance.

That had just about everything.

Yeah, it was scrappy and yeah, the penalty count was 10-2 against the Blues but that final 40 minutes more than made up for the dire quality of game one.

Cameron Munster is man of the match. You could tell from the expression on his face when he ran out that he was due for a huge game, and he delivered.

You have to feel for Zac Lomax, who’ll be going over those conversions after landing just two from five, but the misses all came from very difficult positions.

He was bringing it back to start the Blues’ last set and had the Steeden jarred out.

NSW have lodged a captain’s challenge but that shot from the Maroons definitely dislodged the ball.

That mistake from the Maroons came on the last.

The Blues have a great chance here, about 12 metres out, just under three minutes on the clock.

Ponga was ruled to have knocked a bomb on about 10 out from his line…

That looked like a disastrous pass from Lomax but Coates just grazed it – and the Blues have another set.

Just under four minutes to go.

Angus Crichton grounds a beautiful kick to the in-goal from Luai and they’re on the verge of their biggest comeback in Origin history.

Kudos to Mitchell for the steal that created that attacking chance.

Finally, an easier kick for Lomax, and he slots it.

Just under seven minutes left.

Jeez, no composure there from NSW, despite getting a six again.

They threw it wildly to their right, Watson’s pass went to ground behind Lomax and over the sideline.

Now Mitchell has stolen it back!

They’re headloss chooks at the start of this set but they’re about 25m out.

And there goes Queensland’s chance at putting a big nail in the coffin.

Another big hit from Capewell forces that error and Queensland are across the NSW 20.

Once again, slick hands going right to left from NSW with Mitchell slapping the ball on straight into To’o’s arms.

Luai was big there – his long kick got them on the attack, and he threw a lovely pass as the ball flew out to the wing.

Another sideline job for Lomax, this time off his better side – and he pushes it wide.

They had an awful set trying to come off their line, but Tabuai-Fidow couldn’t field the long kick, which ricocheted off his arm.

‘They’ve jagged one here, NSW,’ Johns says.

Cleary has fully resumed the kicking duties but he’s putting it on a platter for the Maroons backs – not high enough to give the tacklers enough time to exert pressure, not kicking to space.

Stephen Crichton crashes over after getting onto Holmes’s left shoulder and smacking through him and a headgear-less Ponga.

‘Game on! Game on!’ shouts Andrew Johns.

Lomax has his most difficult shot of the night, on his bad side… and hits the post!

There are 21 minutes left.

He’s having one of his best games in any form of footy tonight.

Came out of the line to make a key tackle in that NSW attacking set, and has been quality with just about every touch tonight.

Coates is ruled to have tackled Zac Lomax in the air there. He didn’t really have a choice – that’s a bloody rough go for the winger.

Cameron Munster tried to get his kick to sit up in the in-goal but was miles off there and NSW are out of jail.

Tino looked to have knocked that on, but Klein called six again – and Edwards had to be told to belt up by the ref as he started going off.

Cotter was almost over on the back of that bit of spilled ball and now NSW are on the back foot once again, defending off their own tryline.

Another indication that he’s struggling to get any polish on his long kicks, as Joey Johns doubles down and says ‘he’s not right’.

To’o gets his second as quick hands get the ball around the outer edge of the Maroons line and he dives over after getting a slick ball from Mitchell.

Zac Lomax has another difficult conversion just a metre in from the sideline… and just misses.

Coates is trapped in the in-goal due to a well-weighted Cleary kick.

Queensland try the short kickoff and Munster does a great job with the boot, but Tabuai-Fidow spills it.

NSW get a break as Robson forces the error with a solid hit.

Luai gets pinged for offside. So much for Klein trying to square things up straight away.

Lindsay Collins brings it back to get us going – and between the rain and the smoke from the fireworks, it’s like watching the action through a thick fog.

‘I don’t think there are any excuses, you get a scoreline of 20-6 in a half of football in origin it means one team’s been really good and the other’s been really poor.
‘Queensland have come up with plenty of energy and they’ve played to the conditions a lot better than NSW. They’ve kicked early, Munster has been extremely busy the captaincy has put a fire under him and he’s into everything.
‘NSW have been so undisciplined the penalty count is horrific against them. The six-again count, turnovers with the ball. They’re not getting to their kicks. Really, Queensland have just been far too good for them in these conditions.’

Queensland have been kicking early in the tackle count and kicking well, while NSW have struggled badly in that department.

Cleary’s unspecified leg injury means he isn’t finishing the sets unless they’re close to the Maroons line and while Latrell Mitchell has been reefing it downfield, his placement has been off, driving it straight into the arms of the Queensland backs.

He went on report for a possible eye gouge on Reuben Cotter – leaving some fans calling for him to be sin-binned over this facial and a half.

The penalty count is a staggering 8-0 against the Blues – and Ashley Klein is getting the absolute treatment online.

They’re completing 58 per cent of their sets to Queensland’s 72.

Run metres: NSW 464, Queensland 705

Tackle breaks: NSW 4, Queensland 22

Line breaks: NSW 0, Queensland 3

Missed tackles: NSW 22, Queensland 4

Cleary can’t kick long, the rain is hurling down, and Queensland are on song and full of fire.

After struggling mightily to score over the last three Origins, the Maroons are finding the stripe with regularity, helped by some very poor defence from the Blues.

And that could be game over in these conditions.

A quick play the ball by Ponga, then a quick exchange of passes with Cotter getting a miracle ball out the back to Luke Capewell. Val Holmes tops it up again.

It will take an all-time comeback for the Blues to pull this one out.

Just when we were saying Cleary was busted, he cuts back beautifully and gets through a weak Ponga tackle to scythe through and score – but Utoikamanu has obstructed a tackler and it’s a no try from the video ref.

An awful kick goes backwards from Cleary, To’o puts boot to ball and it ricochets off Queensland – but ref Ashley Klein rules it was played at.

He just came on – and his first act was to launch himself at Lindsay Collins at about mach two on the kickoff.

The shot didn’t quite come off. If it had, Collins might’ve ended up in the top tier of the stand.

Never, ever write off the Maroons.

They are all over NSW now, with Harry Grant knifing through some shocking ruck defence and sending a short ball to Munster, who crashes over with ease.

The Blues are struggling badly in defence – Laurie Daley will be going berserk.

Val Holmes kicks true again.

NSW will need a massive second half if these conditions continue.

Danika Mason has just confirmed that there’s an issue with Cleary’s kicking leg and he wasn’t able to practice his punts at the captain’s run – instead doing a bit of ‘kicking by visualisation’.

Holmes drives that one straight and true through the bucketing rain as Loeiro comes off for an HIA, bringing Kurt Mann on.

He was trying to get the Roosters star off him to play the ball and has gone on report in addition to giving away a penalty within goalkicking range.

They had the Blues in all sorts there, with a two-man overlap – but Collins couldn’t grab it and Latrell Mitchell saved the day.

Crichton threw a bit of a high tackle in there, then Grant ran in, Crichton grabbed his headgear, and we had the modern equivalent of an all-in as players sprinted over to grab each other and dance around a bit.

Fotuai just spilled the pill on the kickoff return, but Cleary threw it a bit behind Haas a few tackles later.

That’s four errors each so far in a stop-start affair that’s bringing back memories of the lacklustre first match.

Tabuai-Fidow out-leaps To’o to take a pinpoint kick from Tom Dearden in the corner.

Queensland’s attack is already a level or two above what they produced at Suncorp Stadium in game one.

Holmes stays at 100 per cent with the boot with 19 minutes left in the first half.

He just blasted the ball out of Fa’asuamaleaui’s grasp with a textbook hit – and let the Titans prop know all about it.

Then the Maroons get their own back a few tackles later as Val Holmes puts his body on the line to jar the Steeden out of Martin’s grasp.

A six again and the Maroons fling it out the back, getting around Latrell Mitchell to give Tabuai-Fidow an untouched run over the tryline.

Val Holmes makes no mistake with the extras.

Great attacking chance here 5m out from the line.

Andrew Johns is worried about the half after Latrell Mitchell just kicked to end that Blues set.

Cleary isn’t goal-kicking and has only put up that bomb – he hasn’t really attempted to drive the ball downfield.

Luai grubbered it in behind the Maroons defence and his old Riff teammate Brian To’o grounds it in what Cameron Smith is calling a ‘special Panthers play’.

Zac Lomax nails the conversion from way out wide.

The Maroons survived two sets of NSW attack courtesy of a stone-cold drop from Stephen Crichton, who got ahead of himself trying to get the ball to Lomax.

He just shoved Liam Martin over on the fifth tackle, six again to the Blues.

Awful lapse in discipline there.

He couldn’t field Cleary’s bomb under intense pressure from Lomax, NSW scrum 10m out from the tryline.

His attacking kick just skidded over the dead-ball line in a let-off for the Blues.

The pivot has put it out on the full as he gets the kick away at the end of the set.

Queensland on the attack 40m out from the Blues’ line.

The Welcome to Country is done, so is the anthem.

It’s a pretty strong reception for the Blues as they smash through their ‘Made for more’ banner.

Hard to be sure but it sounds like there are a few more boos for the Maroons.

Darren Lockyer reckons NSW have the edge in support in Perth – and that’s exactly what Queensland want.

Wolfmother are providing the pre-match entertainment with their (checks notes) 2005 hit Joker and the Thief.

Was West Aussie hit-maker Tame Impala booked out tonight?

At least we haven’t got into the way, wayback machine and gone for Chisel.

Blues coach Laurie Daley just told Nine, ‘We’ve really built on what we achieved in game one. We know what we’re coming up against, [Queensland are] very desperate, very emotional and we’ve got to front-load our energy.’

Front-load our energy. You wouldn’t have heard that one when Loz was playing.

Emma Lawrence just managed to grab the Maroons boss in the sheds and didn’t ask him a single thing about the Paul Green issue.

Gus has just said the Blues prop is the ‘greatest front rower of all time’ – statistically speaking.

‘His body of work is unsurpassed,’ the Dogs boss told Channel Nine.

Fans of legends like Artie Beetson, Glenn Lazarus, Steve Roach and Petero Civoniceva might have something to say about that.

The Maroons will kick off – but sadly, not to Spencer Leniu, who is coming off the bench.

There was plenty of speculation about late changes, but the Maroons are as named…

No late changes for the Blues..

Nathan Cleary has just spoken to Nine after getting off the team bus, stressing the importance of the kicking game tonight – and with Mitch Moses out through injury, more of that responsibility will fall on his shoulders.

No sitting behind a desk for Nine’s James Bracey tonight – he just kicked off the coverage hooked up to a safety harness on the roof of Optus Stadium.

No Queensland coach has kept his job after taking the Cane Toads to two series defeats in a row.

The last Maroons boss to record that unwanted mark was Kevin Walters in 2018-19.

Slater has been smashed from pillar to post since his bombshell yesterday afternoon – but Queensland icon Mal Meninga is squarely in his corner.

The incoming Perth Bears coach said ‘I’m in Billy’s boat here’ as he blasted Aaron Woods for the ‘grub’ insult that started the scandal, describing it as a ‘personal attack’.

Queensland were accused of chickening out by not kicking off to Blues enforcer Spencer Leniu (pictured) so he could take a run from the back fence in game one – so Maroons assistant coach Josh Hannay found a funny way of turning the tables earlier today.

‘We’re going to kick off right, by the way, so the Blues can put whoever they want on that side of the field,’ he joked.

It was heavily rumoured that the Maroons were going to target Leniu in the first match after his sideline clash with Johnathan Thurston earlier this year, but the confrontation never really eventuated, despite the Roosters star giving it to the crowd before kickoff.

There’s a 90 per cent chance of rain in Perth at kickoff time, and a quick look at the rain radar just showed pockets of downpours coursing over the city.

This year’s first Origin match was deservedly panned for being a low-quality affair full of handling errors and poor discipline, making it more like a club game than footy’s biggest attraction – and now there are decent odds the second rubber will be a dour and conservative affair due to the weather.

Green’s brother Rick has spoken out after Billy Slater called the late coach’s wife Amanda (pictured together, below) to apologise ‘for any hurt’ his comments caused the family.

‘The family regrets that Paul’s name was brought into the current narrative and the manner this has been done,’ Rick Green told the Sydney Morning Herald.

‘The family wants to reiterate that we love Queensland and its team. We also bear great respect for the person charged with the team’s performance.

‘It was unfortunate that Mr Slater made the reference that he did, but he has responded appropriately and apologised without reservation.

‘We sincerely wish him the best in his role as the coach of our state team.’

It was one of the quietest and safest build-ups to Origin for years – until Billy Slater brought footy legend Paul Green’s tragic death into it as he hit back at Aaron Woods.

The former NSW star had branded Slater a grub – and despite having a week to prepare his comeback, the Queensland coach got it horribly wrong on Tuesday afternoon.

By this morning he was issuing a public apology after calling Green’s widow to apologise for any hurt he’d caused the family.

This shot was taken not too long ago at Optus Stadium, with all 60,000 seats sold out for tonight’s match.

Thanks for joining Daily Mail Australia’s coverage of game two of this year’s Origin series.

NSW are just 80 minutes away from sewing up their second straight series victory and they’re clear favourites with the bookies.

But Queensland are just where they want to be – backs to the wall, absolute underdogs. And we’ve all seen what happens when the Maroons get written off.