Queensland beats New South Wales to win the State of Origin rugby league series in Australia

SYDNEY (AP) — Queensland scored 20 unanswered points in the first half and went on to beat New South Wales 24-12 Wednesday in the third and deciding State of Origin rugby league match, one of the most anticipated sporting events in Australia each year.

Before a sellout crowd of 80,256 at the Olympic stadium in Sydney, winger Xavier Coates scored his sixth try in seven Origin appearances to help give Queensland an 8-0 lead in the 18th minute.

Halfback Tom Dearden scored Queensland’s second try in the 27th minute and the Maroons led 14-0 after Valentine Holmes again kicked a conversion. Harry Grant muscled his way past three New South Wales defenders to score Queensland’s third try in the final minute of the half and send the Maroons to the break with a 20-0 lead.

Center Stephen Crichton got New South Wales on the board with a try in the 56th minute. But Dearden scored his second try of the match with seven minutes remaining to put the match away for the Maroons.

It was the first points Queensland scored in the second half of any of the three Origin matches this year.

Queensland captain Cameron Munster played in the match just days after the sudden death of his father, Steven, last weekend at the age of 58.

Queensland coach and former National Rugby League star Billy Slater was in tears when he hugged Munster at the end of the match.

Grant was also emotional.

“So much love and appreciation to Cam for the way he showed up tonight to play and how he handled this,” Grant told Australian Broadcasting Corp. “The only way we could repay him was through our actions to give him something to remember through this time. We played for him tonight.”

Munster called it a “special week” despite the sadness over his father’s death.

“I know it’s been a tough time, but I guess at the end of the day, that’s life,” Munster said. “I just want to appreciate everyone that’s been around me. I think when someone loses someone you forget about it sometime but then it brings back memories and obviously, I just want to say thank you to all the rugby league community.”

New South Wales took a 1-0 lead in the series with an 18-6 win at Brisbane on May 28. Queensland leveled it with a 26-24 victory at Perth on June 18, hanging on after also leading by 20 points at halftime, 26-6.

New South Wales won last year’s series after beating Queensland 14-4 in the deciding match at Brisbane.

The State of Origin series was first played in 1982 and Queensland has won it 25 times, including eight years in a row from 2006 to 2013. New South Wales has won it 17 times, and there have been two drawn series.

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