Ponga tortures Blues as maligned $1m star seals win with superhuman display: QLD Ratings

Kalyn Ponga came up with a performance for the ages in Queensland’s 22-12 win over New South Wales to claim the 2022 State of Origin series.

With Cameron Munster out, the Maroons needed someone to stand up and both Ponga and Ben Hunt — who scored a stunning series-sealing try — did exactly that.

Munster’s replacement, 21-year-old Tom Dearden had a debut he should be incredible proud of.

Read on for the Queensland player ratings for Origin III.

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1. KALYN PONGA 9.5

An absolute masterclass from the star fullback. Finished with a try, 226 running metres, 16 tackle busts, two linebreaks and four offloads.

Whether it was busting through tackles or the stunning break in the opening minute of the second half, Ponga caused major head aches for NSW’s left edge… his efforts were rewarded when he scored the try that snatched Queensland the lead.

Ponga also came up with an important one-on-one tackle on James Tedesco after the Blues No.1 made a break.

2. SELWYN COBBO N/A

Suffered a sickening head knock in the first two minutes and did not return.

3. VALENTINE HOLMES 8

Got involved from start to finish and was rewarded with the first try of the night. Finished with 86 running metres, seven tackle busts, a linebreak and two offloads. His stats don’t do his efforts justice though.

4. DANE GAGAI 6

For an Origin veteran he should have known better than to lose his cool and initiate something with Blues centre Matt Burton. Was sin-binned for his flare-up and didn’t produce the type of performance that we’re used to seeing from him in the Origin arena.

5. COREY OATES 6.5

Had a relatively quiet first 40 but started to come alive in the second half, finishing with 132 running metres and five tackle busts.

6. TOM DEARDEN 8.5

A debut worth celebrating for the 21-year-old. Had to fill the incredibly big shoes of Cameron Munster and didn’t look out of place. Came up with a potential try-saving tackle on Liam Martin 10 metres out from the line and threw a double pump pass to Valentine Holmes for the first try of the night. Almost got a second try assist after some great hands to catch an offload and pass to Corey Oates but it was called forward.

Dearden’s dream start on Debut! | 00:30

7. DALY CHERRY-EVANS 8

Kicked the bomb that will give Daniel Tupou nightmares for years to come given the Maroons got the ball back and scored soon after. The skipper also threw the inside ball to put Ponga through a gap and kicked an almost perfect chip over the top.

8. LINDSAY COLLINS N/A

Copped a head knock in the first four minutes while attempting a tackle on Daniel Tupou and did not return.

9. BEN HUNT 9.5

Huge defensive effort in the first half but fatigue started to set in right before half time when he threw a poor pass to Tino Fa’asuamaleaui. His class was evident in the second half when he came up with a one-on-one steal, kicked a 40/20 and then charged down a Nathan Cleary bomb to run 60-odd metres to score the series-sealing try.

10. JOSH PAPALII 7.5

Had limited opportunities in the first two games to have any impact on the game but got his shot when he was forced to play big minutes after Collins failed his HIA.

Caught off guard in the first half when Nathan Cleary’s grubber for Jarome Luai’s try went between him and Jeremiah Nanai but in the end it didn’t matter.

Finished with 101 running metres, two tackle busts and an offload.

Blues’ blunders at crucial moments | 02:41

11. KURT CAPEWELL 7.5

Queensland’s Mr. Fix It had to move into the centres two minutes in and didn’t take a backward step. No coincidence that he was there for Queensland’s second try of the night.

12. JEREMIAH NANAI 7

Had some sublime touches and threatened a number of times on the right edge in an unexpected combination with makeshift centre Capewell. While he was dangerous with ball in hand he struggled a little defensively, missing 11 tackles.

16. PATRICK CARRIGAN 8.5

His name won’t be in the headlines but as expected got through a mountain of work once again on both sides of the ball. Topped the team in both running metres (120) and tackles (40). Carrigan’s efforts in his debut series were recognised with the Broncos forward named Player of the Series.

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Maroons make Tupou pay for crucial error | 00:50

13. TINO FA’ASUAMALEAUI 7

Benched before kick-off but was injected into the game earlier than expected when Collins came off. Penalised for a high shot on Matt Burton and wasn’t his destructive self until late in the game when he came up with some big shots.

14. HARRY GRANT 7.5

Came on midway first half and took a little bit of time to find his groove. Once he found it though he really started to come alive and kicked the grubber for Queensland to score on the stroke of half time.

15. JAI ARROW 7

Did his job without a fuss, finishing with 69 running metres and 25 tackles with just one miss.

17. TOM GILBERT 6.5

Forced into the game a lot earlier than expected when Cobbo left the field in the second minute. Had a couple of poor moments in defence like a missed tackle in Jacob Saifiti’s try but never gave up on the effort areas like kick-pressure in the final 10 minutes.