NSW Blues beat Queensland Maroons to kick off Laurie Daley’s second coming

Brisbane: Laurie Daley is suddenly just 80 minutes away from State of Origin redemption after kicking off his second coming as NSW coach in style.

Back at the Blues helm for the first time since 2017, Daley would have breathed a giant sigh of relief when Dylan Edwards crashed over in the 73rd minute to all but seal the 18-6 victory.

Zac Lomax, easily the best player on the field last night, dragged a Nathan Cleary kick in with his right hand and kept the ball alive for Connor Watson, who somehow squeezed the ball out for Edwards to cross.

A NSW victory in Perth in three weeks will hand Daley an Origin series victory, something he achieved just once from five attempts in his first spell in charge.

Daley did well to get as close as he did against some of the greatest Origin teams ever assembled. At some stage in the coming days, Daley will no doubt think about how much fairer some of those fights against the star-studded Maroons – including Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Johnathan Thurston – would have been had he been able to pick the likes of Cleary, Lomax, Isaah Yeo, Payne Haas and Stephen Crichton.

Lomax was phenomenal in attack and defence. His ability to pounce on a Cam Munster grubber and keep the ball in the field of play approaching the hour was just as vital as his two tries – and his effort in the lead-up to Edwards’ winner – given the Maroons were camped down the Blues’ end of the field.

Zac Lomax celebrates one of his two tries.Credit: Getty Images

Yeo was dynamite in the first half with some of his carries, while Crichton, who came into the game with a quad strain, reminded the 52,483 fans inside Suncorp Stadium why he is the best centre in the game.

Queensland threatened a comeback early in the second half when facing 12 NSW players. Brian To’o went to the sin bin on the final play of the game before the break when he tackled Xavier Coates in the air as he tried to catch a Daly Cherry-Evans kick. Few could argue with the penalty, but there will be healthy debate about whether To’o deserved a ten-minute timeout.