BRISBANE- The smallest man on the field, Matt Bowen, came up with the biggest play of the night as Queensland stole an amazing 24-20 golden-point State of Origin win over NSW at Suncorp Stadium tonight.
Bowen plucked a Brett Kimmorley pass out of thin air in the fourth minute of
extra time to break the deadlock after the scores were locked at 20-all after 80 gripping minutes.
Bowen's North Queensland teammate, halfback Johnathan Thurston, playing in his first Origin, sent the thriller into the golden point scenario for only the second time with his 78th-minute field goal.
Thurston's match-saving strike wobbled over after a NSW player got a hand on the ball.
The first game of last year's series was also decided by golden point when NSW five-eighth Shaun Timmons squeezed a field goal over to snatch victory.
Queensland skipper Darren Lockyer missed with a desperate 44-metre field goal with less than a minute to play in regular time which hardly got off the ground.
He had a chance to win the game in the 76th minute but missed his 33-metre penalty kick which drifted left of the posts.
Lockyer's boot wasn't kind as he also missed with another long-range field goal in the 83rd minute.
NSW stormed back from a 19-0 deficit and looked set to send the record crowd of 52,484 home disappointed when captain Danny Buderus scored the Blues' third try in nine minutes to hit the lead 20-19.
Rookie winger Matt King sprinted down the righthand touch line and somehow tossed a miraculous pass 20m infield for Buderus to score.
Queensland had been far the better side in the first 40 minutes but NSW got their running players into the game in the second half and the match changed complexion dramatically.
But Bowen, who had made several breaks around the rucks, came up with the golden play of the night when he swooped like a rabbit onto Kimmorley's pass, leaving the exhausted NSW players to watch him spring away for the match-winning try.
- AAP
