Overview
- New South Wales defeated Queensland 30-12 to win the best-of-three series 2-1 in the decider at Suncorp Stadium, with Nathan Cleary named player of the match and awarded the Wally Lewis Medal.
- Cleary scored two first-half tries, kicked the conversions and a late penalty, and was the defining figure in a Blues performance that built an 18-0 lead and closed out the game.
- Match events on Wednesday featured a contentious Bunker decision that allowed Bradman Best's length-of-the-field try to stand and reporting that the NRL review unit operated from a television truck outside the ground after Telstra outages at NRL HQ wiped central vision, raising questions about review reliability.
- Queensland’s defeat was marked by uncharacteristic handling errors, missed tackles and goal-kicking failures—Sam Walker missed all three conversion attempts—which analysts say cost the Maroons momentum and scoring opportunities.
- The decider also saw key head-injury issues that affected personnel, most notably James Tedesco failing an HIA and leaving the field, and the result leaves coaching decisions and the NRL’s video-review processes likely to face immediate scrutiny.