Cobbo scores hat-trick as Maroons level State of Origin series

Selwyn Cobbo scored a second-half hat-trick as Queensland levelled the 2026 State of Origin series with a huge 44-24 victory against New South Wales at the MCG, to set up a mouthwatering decider in Brisbane on July 8, live on Sky Sports.

Akin to the 2025 series, Queensland bounced back after suffering a crushing defeat to New South Wales in game one, but as ever, you can never truly rule Cameron Munster's side out, as they scored six tries in what was a dominant second-half performance that left the Blues stunned.

It was a much different story in the first 40 minutes with New South Wales, who were riding high on momentum after their epic comeback in game one, taking a 10-point lead after 22 minutes, thanks to tries from Kotoni Staggs and Mark Nawaqanitawase, who scored twice on his Origin debut at the MCG.

State of Origin recap: Game two as it happened

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Munster was excellent throughout, showcasing his brilliant handling abilities to chuck a one-handed pass out to Sam Walker, who teed up Trent Loiero for his side's first of the game to keep the deficit to just four points heading into half-time.

But with the Blues at full tilt, what followed will certainly be considered one of Queensland's greatest comebacks in State of Origin history, with the Maroons extinguishing their opposition's momentum by scoring six second-half tries as they surged to a commanding victory.

"They started better than us tonight," Maroons captain Munster told Nine.

"But I love the way we dug deep and played our best footy at the end of the match. We're going to a decider in Brisbane!

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"I had so much belief in this group. But the simpler the gameplan, the simpler the mindset. We did that tonight.

"We dug a little bit deeper than we had to. It was good enough.

Munster, who had to spend the end of the second half on the bench after undergoing a head injury assessment, added: "I saw the way we dug deep at the end of the first half, and I knew we were in with a chance."

The Maroons looked an entirely different side in the second half, with Cobbo scoring twice inside the first 11 minutes.

The Dolphins' outside back first capitalised on a brilliant cross-field kick from the skipper to slide over for Queensland's first of the second term.

Minutes later, Kalyn Ponga produced some beautiful fast hands to put Cobbo in at the corner, but he still had plenty of work to do. Cobbo fended off two Blues defenders before reaching for the line while just managing to keep his foot in play to score again.

It was a disappointing slump from Laurie Daley's side, who had commanded the opening 20 minutes of the match brilliantly.

They struggled under the high ball, with Jojo Fifita showing off his incredible athleticism to climb above Brian To'o and touch down in the 55th minute.

But it wasn't all doom and gloom for the Blues. Nawaqanitawase rescued some momentum by beating three defenders to touch down in the corner, but it was not enough to slow down the Maroons, who responded almost immediately.

With frustrations riding high, Staggs was sent to the sin bin and was put on report for a high tackle on Ponga.

Given Ponga's red card in game one, Staggs was lucky not to receive a harsher punishment. The Brisbane centre hit Ponga in the head with his shoulder, but it was Ponga who had the last laugh.

Just moments before the tackle, the Newcastle Knights full-back managed to offload the ball to Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, who offloaded Cobbo on the wing. Cobbo clipped a cute grubber through the defence, with Tabuai-Fidow finishing off the move to score the Maroons' fourth try of the second half.

With a man down, things went from bad to worse for the Blues, with Harry Grant sniping his way past Nathan Cleary from dummy half, before popping off to Lindsay Collins, who stormed over to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

New South Wales' Mitchell Barnett added another for Laurie Daley's side, but it was too little too late, with Cobbo again scoring in the corner to wrap up the 20-point win.

Tedesco: Maroons showed more enthusiasm

A glum New South Wales captain, James Tedesco, admitted Queensland eclipsed his side in multiple facets during the second half.

"We weren't good enough at the start of the second half," Tedesco said.

"They came out with a lot and gave us everything they had.

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"Disappointing, but now we've got a decider at Suncorp.

"I think we were out-enthused. They lost the first game, and they had a lot to lose tonight.

"They out-enthused us in multiple areas, so that's something we've got to look at."

Walker: We've got a job to do

Walker was flawless with the boot on Wednesday, kicking seven conversions that included several difficult shots from the touchlines, and was awarded the Player of the Match for his performance.

"It's really special, I guess," Walker said. "I'm more stoked about the win, and it probably hasn't quite set in. But it will eventually be something that's pretty cool.

"But for now, we've got a job to do in a couple of weeks.

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"I think we were working really hard. Munny [Munster] went off with a head knock. I probably didn't kick us into a good enough position. But having Munster back on, we put ourselves in better positions and earned the right to play better footy.

"It was a really good start to the first 20 minutes of that second half, I thought."

What's next?

Queensland will look to retain its State of Origin title at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Wednesday, July 8.

Watch the final game of the series unfold live on Sky Sports and NOW, with coverage set to commence at 10am. Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract