New South Wales - Matt Bungard
1. James Tedesco: Threw an ill-advised cut-out pass that was intercepted for the opening try but recovered well and backed up to give the Blues a half-time lead. 7
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2. Tom Trbojevic: Cleaned up plenty of kicks under real pressure and showed great instincts to swing the game in NSW’s favour with a runaway try while the Blues were down a man. 8
3. Latrell Mitchell: Muscled up in defence but was caught slightly out of position for Holmes’ second try. Not as explosive in attack as in game two. 6.5
4. James Roberts: Another pretty quiet game from the centre, who hasn’t really been able to make his mark on this series. 6
5. Josh Addo-Carr: Nearly turned the game on its head with a sensational run in the dying minutes. Desperately needed more touches. 7
6. James Maloney: Another mixed bag: some excellent last-ditch defence, but a sin bin and a few bad options. 6.5
7. Nathan Cleary: Stepped up a bit more as the primary playmaker in this game and had some nice kicks along with a decent running game. 7
8. David Klemmer: Was his regular hard-running self, but a bone-headed tripping penalty cost the Blues a chance to level the game late on. 6
9. Damien Cook: Made an important line break and put Tedesco over for a try. Chose his times to run carefully. 7.5
10. Paul Vaughan: Thrown into the starting team for this final game but was only used sparingly at the start and didn’t return. 5.5
11. Boyd Cordner: Playing hurt. Another brave game from the skipper on the left edge. Will be gutted not to lead them to a whitewash. 6.5
12. Tyson Frizell: Needed more minutes. Looked the most likely of any Blues forward to make something happen. Ran hard and with intent every time. 7
13. Jack de Belin: Moved to the bench at the last second, but made the most of his limited time with some strong defence. 7
14. Tariq Sims: Had a pretty exciting debut: gave away a baffling penalty when he had the ball but was aggressive and looked likely to create every time he had a touch. 6.5
15. Jake Trbojevic: Thrust into the starting line-up in a late change and didn’t miss a beat. Worked his socks off and was great with the ball in hand. 7.5
16. Angus Crichton: Threw an unfortunate ball over the sideline with a promising attack brewing and was caught out a couple of times. 5
17. Tyrone Peachey: More minutes than he got in the first two games and looked lively in the place of Cordner in the dying stages. 5.5
Queensland - James Buckley
1. Billy Slater: Denied a fairytale try early, then threatened with every subsequent touch. Did everything in his power to retire a winner. 8
2. Valentine Holmes: Scored a try in each half and now has eight tries in five Origin appearances. His acrobatic intercept late on helped seal the win. 8
3. Dane Gagai: One of his quieter games in Origin, filling in for Greg Inglis at left centre. 50m run in second half his best moment. 6
4. Will Chambers: Much more solid defensively than the first two games of the series, and held his nerve to put Holmes over for his second. 7
5. Corey Oates: Made a couple of handling errors at key moments during the second half. Will be sore this morning after taking a massive Tariq Sims hit. 5
6. Cameron Munster: Improved as the game went on and made the break that led to Cherry-Evans’ try. Looks as Queensland superstar of the future. 7
7. Daly Cherry-Evans: Arguably the best player on the ground. Pulled the strings in the first half then scored what turned out to be the match winner. 8
8. Jai Arrow: Emerged as an Origin player with a superb effort in the front row. Finished with 100 damaging run metres and 17 tackles. 7
9. Andrew McCullough: Tidy around the ruck in a 30-minute stint after starting and came back on late on. Replaced by Ben Hunt before half time. 5
10. Josh Papalii: Handled the switch to prop with aplomb and bent the defensive line with every second hit up. A handful all night. 7
11. Gavin Cooper: Very strong on both sides of the ball and threw the pass for Cherry-Evans’ try. Easily his best game of the series. 7
12. Felise Kaufusi: Played his role on right edge and made a key tackle on Maloney with five minutes to go which would have seen NSW level the scores. 6
13. Josh McGuire: At fault for the Blues’ second try when James Tedesco surged through a gap and may struggle to retain his place next season. 5
14. Ben Hunt: Played 50 minutes and proved he belongs at this level. Constantly probing around the ruck, and his kicking game was superb. 7
15. Jarrod Wallace: Played well in a 26-minute stint either side of half-time making 86 run metres. Did what was asked of him. 6
16. Coen Hess: Looked much more damaging than earlier in the series, and came very close to scoring 10 minutes into the second half. 6
17. Tim Glasby: Came on in the second half and did his job around the ruck after Kevin Walters demanded improvement from his side in that area. 5
