Latrell Mitchell cops it from Dane Gagai after rubbing teammate’s head in the turf

It’s the little things that count.

After a searing first half leaving commentators with hoarse voices, NSW back Latrell Mitchell literally rubbed it into Queensland. With a brilliant try to his name and the Blues running away with the game, the Souths fullback thought he’d have a crack at fellow Rabbitoh Dane Gagai after piling on the Queenslander on the touch line.

Cameras picked up Mitchell rubbing Gagai’s face in the dirt, raising eyebrows amongst footy fans.

But the Maroons veteran found his gap with Mitchell shortly after. With the game all but lost with under 20 minutes to go, Gagai returned to favour after the Blues youngster found himself at the bottom of a pile-on.

NSW legend Joey Johns lauded the glittering Blues backline, which made a mess of the hosts early once Josh Addo-Carr slipped through the right flank for the first try.

From there it was completely downhill for the Maroons, who went on to lose 26-0 to drop the series 2-0.

Incredibly, it was the first time in Origin history Queensland failed to score at Suncorp Stadium. It was also the first time in 15 years the Blues have wrapped up the series at the Maroons’ Brisbane fortress.

The back five of James Tedesco, Josh Addo-Carr, Mitchell, Trbojevic and Brian To’o simply looked too dangerous every time they touched the ball.

“Big moments. Big players. Superstars stand-up,” Johns said on Channel 9.

“First try one-on-one break, this time the intercept from Latrell Mitchell, you can feel the Queensland team coming back, got another six to go. But, you talk about vision in attack.

“Latrell Mitchell, he sticks the left mitt out and he has still got 80 metres to run, he knows he has got the pace and he paces himself and he gets there in the end.

“But it was a horrible set by the Queenslanders, very disjointed, they couldn’t get the ball to their star players and Latrell, he got himself in the defensive line, the ball came to him and he did the rest, what a player.”

Queensland skipper Daly Cherry-Evans looked absolutely shattered in his immediate post-match interview, holding back his emotion for the cameras.

“I can’t believe it’s over. Mate, they were just too good. The scoreline reflected that, such a shame,” he said. “We did start well, had all the right intentions. We just had a few things let us down. They were too good and capitalised. You’ve got to give them credit. Too good.”