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New South Wales lands State-of-Origin

"The way we finished last year was very disappointing. This is what it's all about. It's awesome and I'm just glad to be here."

Shaun Timmins, New South Wales

Timana Tahu scored two tries yesterday as New South Wales outclassed Queensland 27-4 in front of almost 80,000 spectators at Olympic Stadium and clinched the annual State-of-Origin series for the first time since 2000.

Tahu picked up a pass inches from the ground and on the fly as he dived into the right corner in the 73rd minute to complete the Blues' triumph on home soil.

New South Wales won the first match 25-14 and will travel back to Brisbane with an unbeatable lead in the three-match series.

The Blues opened the scoring in the 12th minute when an Andrew Johns bomb hit an upright and Ben Kennedy won a race to the ball as it rolled in-goal.

Johns landed the conversion and added the extras again eight minutes later after Matt Gidley brushed off two feeble, attempted tackles in a solo 25m run to the tryline.

Fullback Anthony Minichello scored his third try in two Origin matches when he barged over in the tackle of Darren Lockyer after a strong run from Bryan Fletcher to give New South Wales a 16-0 lead and, just for good measure, Johns added a dropped goal in injury time for a 17-0 halftime advantage.

Queensland needed to score at least four times when Johns slotted a penalty five minutes after halftime to extend the margin to 19 points and Tahu put the result beyond doubt when he beat teammate Gidley in a race to a Shaun Timmins's grubber kick in-goal.

The Maroons got a consolation try through the perseverance of hooker Michael Crocker, who scored in the 70th minute.

New South Wales five-eighth Timmins said the win was morale-boosting after surrendering the series last season with a draw in Game 3, which allowed then holder Queensland to retain the series.

"It's awesome," Timmins said. "The way we finished last year was very disappointing. This is what it's all about. It's awesome and I'm just glad to be here."
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