Queensland take State of Origin Game I after Sua’ali’i sent off

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New South Wales were reduced to 12 men in the opening 10 minutes of their clash with Queensland as Joseph Suaalii became just the sixth man to be sent off in State of Origin history

Joseph Suaalii’s first-half dismissal proved costly for New South Wales as Queensland triumphed in Game I of this year’s State of Origin series.

Suaalii, one of five debutants in the Blues team, was given his marching orders just eight minutes into the match in Sydney for a high tackle on Maroons full-back Reece Walsh.

The visitors made the most of that numerical advantage as well, with a hat-trick of tries from Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, two from Ben Hunt and one from Xavier Coates securing a 38-10 victory.

Reigning champions Queensland had taken the lead when both sides still had 13 on the pitch after Daly Cherry-Evans’ burst out of dummy-half set up Hunt for the opening try in the fifth minute.

New South Wales, with former New Zealand head coach Michael Maguire at the helm for the first time, were then dealt a bigger blow when Samoa international Suaalii was sent off by referee Ashley Klein for his high shot on Walsh which saw the Maroons man forced out of the game.

Valentine Holmes kicked the first of his seven goals from the resulting penalty, yet NSW hit back on 14 minutes through a try from James Tedesco which was converted by Nicho Hynes.

However, that was as close as the Blues got for the rest of the game and Queensland seized the initiative with two tries in the space of five minutes from Tabuai-Fidow.

Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow ran in three tries for Queensland as they beat New South Wales in State of Origin Game I

Trailing 20-6 at half time, New South Wales were quickest out of the blocks when play resumed as they crossed again in the 44th minute through Zac Lomax.

Despite their best efforts a man down, the Maroons would prove too strong though and Hunt went over for his second try of the game in the 67th minute.

Coates got in on the scoring act with 10 minutes to go and Tabuai-Fidow’s converted try in the final minute put the seal on Queensland’s biggest-ever victory in Sydney.

History is on the side of Billy Slater’s side as they bid to retain the Origin shield for the third year in a row, with New South Wales’ only series win after losing the first game in Sydney coming 30 years ago.

What’s next?

The Women’s State of Origin series takes centre stage on Thursday with the second match between New South Wales and Queensland taking place at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle, live on Sky Sports Action and Sky Sports Main Event (10.45am kick-off).

The men’s series continues on Wednesday, June 26 when the Blues and Maroons clash at the MCG in Melbourne. That match is also live on Sky Sports (11.45am kick-off).