Maroon's Win State Of Origin III
In front of a record 52,498 fans at Suncorp Stadium Queensland have won the third and final State Of Origin clash against New South Wales.
In what was one of the most talked about clashes of the 31-year State Of Origin history, Darren Lockyer has given fans one of the most memorable games of his career. Lockyer has appeared in 36 State Of Origin games over the course of his career, and last night's win, the sixth straight for QLD, will be one of the highlights of his career.
While it was a night for celebration for QLD players and fans, a season ending injury to Johnathan Thurston midway through the second half put a dampener on the occasion. In his 21st consecutive game for the Maroons, Thurston sustained the injury while attempting a tackle on Watmough. Teammate Ashley Harrison rolled underneath the left leg of Thurston and early diagnosis suggests a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
In the end QLD were simply too good for their southern neighbours and despite a much better second half from the Blues, the final score of 34-24 means that QLD State Of Origin dominance continues for at least another year.
FINAL SCORES
QLD 34 (G. Inglis 2, C. Smith, B. Slater, S. Thaiday, J. Yow Yeh tries; J. Thurston 4, C.Smith goals)
NSW 24 (G. Bird, J. Hayne, A. Minichiello, A. Uate tries; J. Soward 4 goals)
State Of Origin III Set To Break All Records
There is certainly plenty of hype surrounding tonight's game, with tag lines such as "biggest ever" being thrown around left right and center, and according to Haydn Lane from Sportsbet there may be some substance behind all the hoopla.
Sportsbet predicts a peak audience of 4.1 million viewers based on the ratings from the first two games and if tonight's game does in fact lock in this many viewers, it will remain the two most-watched TV events of the year to date.
The game will be broadcast live on Channel 9 in NSW with coverage starting at 7:30pm tonight. Maybe for this night only, Channel 9 will beat out Channel 10 and Masterchef ratings Juggernaut. Masterchef may have a small chance of ratings success given that tonight will see the eviction of one of their contestants from the show for cheating, a series first.
Either way, I think I will be watching the State of Origin III finale and hopefully see the Blue Boys from NSW bring home the bacon.
If you haven't yet had a punt on tonight's game, head over to Sportsbet and register a new account. If you don't have an account yet, you can even get two bets for the price of one.
SPORTSBET ODDS
Queensland 1.50
New South Wales 2.65
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