Wow, what a difference three weeks makes!
Some huge efforts from the New South Wales Blues during their dominant win in Game 2.
As for the Queensland Maroons, they were a far cry from the unstoppable side that upset the odds in the Sydney opener.
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Here's our player ratings!
NEW SOUTH WALES
1.James Tedesco - 8
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Superb game. Made huge metres and lead his side beautifully.
2.Brian To'o - 7
Great game on the wing. Scored a try and had a big night defensively.
3.Matt Burton - 8
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What a wonderful debut. Spiralling bombs caused the Blues headaches all night and scored his side's first try of the night.
4.Stephen Crichton - 4
Very average game from the Panthers centre. Struggled in defence, threw a forward pass that should have lead to a try - not his night.
5.Daniel Tupou - 6
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Did well. Ran for 200 metres and was safe under the high ball.
6.Jarome Luai - 5
Nowhere near as instrumental in the match as his halves partner. Scored a try but was soft defensively.
7.Nathan Cleary - 9.5
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Fantastic game. Was instrumental in the victory, bagging two tries and having a hand in many more. Eight from eight from the kicking tee too. A huge improvement from his performance in Game 1.
8.Payne Haas - 5
He was OK. Not on for long enough and didn't have a whole heap of impact with the ball-in-hand.
9.Apisai Koroisau - 3.5
Was gifted the number 9 jersey and only played 34 minutes. Nothing good, nothing bad, nothing much.
10.Jake Trbojevic 8.5
Welcome back Jurbo! Top game, tough as expected. 143 metres, 32 tackles and a monster amount of heart.
11.Cameron Murray - 5.5
Brilliant charge down in the early stages, came off with a HIA, wasn't quite the same when he returned. Can't fault his effort.
12.Liam Martin - 6
Tough in the tackle. Played for 71 minutes. Not as influential as Game 1 though.
13.Isaah Yeo - 7
Did his job. Nothing flash but worked hard regardless.
14.Damien Cook - 5.5
Was better than the guy he got pushed to the bench for, but still nothing special from the Souths star.
15.Angus Crichton - 5.5
Did pretty well in his recall to the Blues, giving the Maroons headaches right up until the final whistle. Capped off his evening with a try.
16.Junior Paulo - 7.5
Huge off the bench. Would have silenced a few of his Game 1 critics.
17.Siosifa Talakai - 4.5
Did well, only played in the last 20 minutes. Not a big impact but gave it his all.
QUEENSLAND
1.Kalyn Ponga - 7.5
One the Maroons' best. Was strong in the first half but went quiet after a big hit from Junior Paulo. Shame he left the game early due to a HIA.
2.Selwyn Cobbo - 2
Oh dear. Had a night he would like to quickly forget. Had a golden opportunity to bag a try of his own.
3.Valentine Holmes - 4
Much quieter game this time round. Had a hand in a try but didn't get anywhere near the same involvement he showed in the series opener.
4.Dane Gagai - 3
Expected another big game from Gagai, but he was smothered. Under constant pressure and couldn't handle it. Pretty poor in defence.
5.Murray Taulagi - 4
Not a debut he would have been hoping for, struggled under the high ball - he'll be having nightmares about that Matt Burton bomb for weeks to come.
6.Cameron Munster - 6
Tried hard and showed glimpses of brilliance. He couldn't quite spark his side on like he did three weeks ago - just couldn't get it all to click.
7.Daly Cherry Evans - 5
He was good. But he wasn't Cleary.
8.Lindsay Collins - 5
Came off for a HIA, tried hard when he was on the field. Didn't cause the same damage that he did in the opener.
9.Ben Hunt - 6
Another one who gave it a red hot crack but couldn't quite pull the strings. Had a good first half but was forced to switch to lock and covered it well.
10.Josh Papalii - 2
I forgot he was even part of the side. Went off after a hard 15 minutes and didn't come back on until 10 minutes to go.
11.Kurt Capewell - 2
Not what was expected from this guy. Only made 27 metres and missed a handful of tackles.
12. Felise Kaufusi - 5
Mixed bag. Scored a try but was sin-binned just before half time. Didn't get to cause as much havoc as he would've liked.
13.Tino Fa'asuamaleaui - 5
Great first half, wasn't on the field enough to have a proper impact in the second half.
14.Harry Grant 5.5
Constantly tried when he was used, but nowhere near the same influence he was during Queensland's first win in Sydney.
15.Jai Arrow - 1
Made a big tackle to stop Paulo. That's about it. Came off for a HIA, hardly on the field.
16.Patrick Carrigan - 7
Made an impact when he came on, tried to lift his side. Made the most tackles out of either side with 41.
17.Jeremiah Nanai - 3
Came on in the second half, couldn't quite get into the game the way he would have wanted given his impressive form for the Cowboys.
Featured Image Credit: SuppliedTopics: Rugby League, nrl, State of Origin, Australia
