The Origin of happiness can be found in a Blues win

“You can take the Queenslander out of Queensland, but you can’t take the Queensland out of the Queenslander” has been the battle cry that has echoed down the years of State of Origin.

It was silenced on Wednesday night when NSW knocked the breath out of Queensland with an astounding 22-20 victory that was a privilege to witness and the stuff of legend.

In the greatest comeback in State of Origin history, NSW was dead and buried but turned around a 20-point deficit to win 22-20 after the game erupted following the sending-off of Maroon Kalyn Ponga. In a thrilling second half, halfback Nathan Cleary put a bomb up into the rainy heavens in a great endgame play that set up James Tedesco to level the scores in the dying minutes. Cleary’s conversion won the night.

The victory was not only one for the ages, but drew a veil over last year’s final game rout, when a flawlessly mechanical Queensland continued its State of Origin domination and clinched the 2026 series 2-1.

Queenslanders have long treated State of Origin as a kind of affirmation proving the righteousness of their existence, an attitude that made Wednesday night’s victory all the sweeter, not least because the game was played on the very same Accor Stadium grass upon which NSW failed last year.

The complete dominance of NSW in interstate games for much of the 20th century was directly responsible for State of Origin. The one-sided competition was exacerbated by the sheer number of Queensland players signed to NSW clubs and ineligible to represent their home state. That ended 46 years ago when State of Origin started, and since then, Queensland has won 25, NSW 17 and two series were drawn.

But NSW has never shirked the challenge and the series is now one of the great national gathering places, with millions watching or listening to the first match around the country.

And it’s not only the men. Wednesday night’s game was played on the eve of women’s State of Origin final, which will decide the series. The two previous games reportedly attracted larger audiences than Thursday Night AFL Football.

The men play the second match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on June 17. NSW players will need to maintain the magic they showed in the classic game that has breathed new life into the series against Queensland, a team pundits always warn is at its most dangerous when badly wounded.

The Maroons have often managed to pull something from inside themselves over the years. During the so-called Super League in 1995, Billy Moore was spotted by a television camera chanting “Queenslander” as he walked from the rooms for the second half, an exhortation that not only inspired the Maroons to unexpectedly pull off a 2-0 ambush but become a famous rallying cry still used by fans and players.

NSW players may lack that sort of overt federal patriotism. But Go the Blues sounds pretty patriotic.

Jordan Baker sends an exclusive newsletter to subscribers each week. Sign up to receive her Note from the Editor.