Jennings stars as Blues square up series

IN the end it came down to a fortuitous decision from the video referees as New South Wales locked up the 2015 Origin series following a 26-18 victory at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Depending on which side of the border you come from, the 68th minute decision to deny Queensland centre Greg Inglis try on a contentious two-man strip contributed to New South Wales taking the series to a decider.

In front of over 91,000 fans and with the Blues clinging to a 20-18 advantage, Blues five-eighth Mitchell Pearce took the ball to the line and lost possession.

It would later be ruled as a knock-on against Titans prop Nate Myles after Cowboys utility Michael Morgan stripped the ball off Pearce in a one-on-one tackle.

Maroons captain Cameron Smith told Channel Nine shortly after the game they were caught out defensively and paid the price.

"We lost our way a few times and were caught out defensively a few times. We move on to Brissy now," he said.

"(The decision on Inglis) is a 50/50 call and it went against us, but I'm wearing a maroon jersey too. "

Shortly after, Blues fullback Josh Dugan sliced through the Queensland defence off a perfect short ball from under-fire Bulldogs halfback Trent Hodkinson to stretch the lead beyond a converted try.

Jennings was a constant threat for the Queensland defence as he opened the scoring in the ninth minute.

Blues halfback Hodkinson said they learnt from the opening game and knew they had to get Jennings involved in the game as early as possible.

"It was good to give Jenko a bit of ball, he terrorised their right side," he said.

Jennings paid credit to coach Laurie Daley for sticking by the side which went close to winning the series opener three weeks ago.

"It was great for Loz to stick by me and it's great to get man of the match," he said.

"It's good to get early ball, but our main focus was to get running metres up and get the ball in my hand. Credit to Hokko, I can't thank him enough."

The Roosters centre said they knew they would be up against it in three weeks when they try to win the series for a second straight year in front of a hostile Queensland crowd."

Bulldogs centre Josh Morris crossed before halftime to restore the Blues lead heading into the break before Greg Inglis completed a sweeping play to the Maroons left-hand side to put them back in front.

Tigers front-rower Aaron Woods pushed away from several Queensland defenders to cross alongside the posts in the 63rd minute to put the Blues ahead and they eventually held on.

"I couldn't believe I went through and I wanted to get the ball down as quick as possible," he said.

Man-of-the-match Jennings and the Blues know the job is only half done and are already looking forward to the series decider in three weeks.

"Gal got us together and said to focus on what's next. It's good to get the win, but there's still one to go, but we can't get too carried away."

Match Details

Queensland Maroons 18 New South Wales Blues 26
Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground
Crowd: 91513
Halftime Score: Queensland Maroons 10 New South Wales Blues 14

QUEENSLAND MAROONS (18)
Tries: Matthew Scott, Greg Inglis, Matt Gillett
Conversions: Johnathan Thurston (2/3)
Penalty Goals: Johnathan Thurston (1/1)

NEW SOUTH WALES BLUES (26)
Tries: Michael Jennings, Josh Morris, Aaron Woods, Josh Dugan
Conversions: Trent Hodkinson (4/4)
Penalty Goals: Trent Hodkinson (1/1)

LeagueUnlimited.com Players of the Match:

3 points - Michael Jennings
2 points - Josh Dugan
1 point - Aaron Woods

LeagueUnlimited.com Live Commentary

Welcome to Melbourne this evening for the second State of Origin for 2015. In what is sure to be a massive game, the Blues need to win to keep the dream alive.

Both sides are 1-17, with all injured players passing fitness tests prior to the game.

Cameron Smith has won the toss, and has opted to kick off to start the game.

We're mid fireworks at the moment - the MCG looking spectacular in the glow of the pyrotechnics.

Lot of talk in the NSW warm up - they look up for this one.

Queensland look a lot more laid back - focused, but calm.

Get pumped! It's almost time for kick off!

The Queensland side take the field, amidst a big roar from the crowd. Strong support for the Maroons.

The Blues still in their shed, delaying things a little bit to take a bit of the gloss off the Maroons' entrance. After a solid few minutes, the Blues head down the tunnel, led by captain Paul Gallen. Again a solid chorus of cheers, but it's met by a strong undertone of booing this time.

The two sides line up, and the National Anthem is performed by Claire Lyon.

It's getting close...

1: Origin II is underway! The Blues get first use of the football. Paul Gallen takes a hitup on tackle 3, but the expected level of defence is not there from the Maroons.

The first penalty of the game goes to the Blues, and Hodkinson kicks his side downfield.

1: Two sets in, and Gallen, Tamou and Woods have already had two big hitups each.

2: Fourth tackle, the Blues send it out to the left, but Hodkinson is pulled down just short.

3: Robbie Farah attempts a pass from dummy half on the last, but Cameron smith knocks it down. The Blues get a scrum feed only ten metres out from the QLD line.

4: TRY NEW SOUTH WALES BLUES
Scored by Michael Jennings. Kick to come.
Tamou gets an offload away on the fourth, and the ball finds its way to Michael Jennings, who is no stranger to the try line. He sprints through some broken defence, and plants the ball for the first try of the game.

Exactly the start the Blues needed!

5: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION NEW SOUTH WALES BLUES
Conversion attempt by Trent Hodkinson successful.
Hodkinson lines up the conversion from 25 metres out, and ten metres in from the left touch line. He strikes it nicely, and the flags are up.

7: Hodkinson gets smashed by Cherry-Evans, and the ball goes to ground. The Maroons get their first use of the football.

7: The Blues are penalised now - Gallen is the man in trouble for holding on too long after the tackle.

8: Now the Maroons have lost the ball. Jennings comes up with it, and sprints away from his red zone.

9: On the last, Pearce puts the ball high, and Hopoate comes down with it, but he's tackled before he can get the pass away. The Blues are looking good early.

10: Another penalty to the Maroons, and they kick their way down to halfway. On the second, Myles makes good metres up the middle, before a strong rn from Thaiday on the third.

10: Thurston almost made a break there, but Jennings hit him with a heavy shoulder.

11: TRY QUEENSLAND MAROONS
Scored by Matthew Scott. Kick to come.
And in the unlikeliest of First Try Scorers, some brilliant footwork from Corey Parker at the line sees Matt Scott put through a yawning gap directly under the posts. Kick to come from straight in front.

12: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION QUEENSLAND MAROONS
Conversion attempt by Johnathan Thurston successful.
Predictably, Thurston makes no mistake with the conversion attempt.

14: On the last, Dugan lets the Maroons grubber bounce, and it beats him, trickling into the in-goal. He gets out of his in goal area, but only just.

14: Farah kicks on the fourth, attempting to catch the Maroons napping at the back.

15: Thurston kicks on the last, but it goes straight down Dugan's throat.

16: Gallen straightens the attack, back in behind the ruck.

On the last, Dugan chips in behind the line, but a falling Johnathan Thurston manages to reel it in with one hand.

17: Nate Myles is looking sore at the moment, getting treatment in back play. Yet again though, the Blues have piggybacked the QLD side out of their half with a cheap penalty.

17: Inglis makes a half break now, but Woods and Scott had hold of his jumper and slowed him down until help arrived.

18: On the last, Dugan cleans up. 20 metre tap, and James Tamou makes a massive hitup.

On the third, the Maroons are penalised. Gallen has just left the field to go into the sheds, replaced by Trent Merrin.

21: And we have our first scuffle! Tamou and Slater start things off, before everyone else comes running in.

21: The Maroons had already been awarded a penalty before the scuffle, but both teams get a warning.

21: Thurston kicks for touch, and makes almost 30 metres.

22: Inglis hits the ball up now, but Beau Scott and Mitchell Pearce combine to jam him into the turf.

23: The Blues make a massive play down the left side of the field, before kicking back in field, but some great cover defence from the Maroons shuts it down. Huge relief for the QLD side

24: Chambers runs down the sideline and tries to get to ground, but the Blues manage to bundle him into touch.

25: Another half break from the Blues down the left edge. This side with Morris and Jennings is looking absolutely potent.

25: And it's a possible TRY to the Blues!

Josh Morris and Will Hopoate flew high in the air to swoop on a high kick from Mitchell Pearce, and Morris plants it over the tryline. We're just checking the grounding, but the on field referee thinks it's a try!

26: TRY NEW SOUTH WALES BLUES
Scored by Josh Morris. Kick to come.
It's a try to Josh Morris! The video referee agrees with the on field referee's decision, and awards the four pointer.

The Blues take the lead again.

26: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION NEW SOUTH WALES BLUES
Conversion attempt by Trent Hodkinson successful.
Hodkinson's kick stays low, but does enough to get over the cross bar.

28: Klemmer on the field now. From the kick off, he bashes his way through to the 20 metre line, before taking another hitup on the third.

28: A bit silly from the Blues down the right edge now, attempting to work a small blind side with a run around play. It results in Robbie Farah bundled out into touch.

30: Inglis beats Dugan in a massive run, but some desperate Blues defence drags him down just short of the line.

30: Gallen makes his way back on to the field, his ribs on his right side visibly strapped under his jersey.

32: The Maroons working very hard in defence now, getting up fast in the line and trying to keep the Blues in their own red zone.

32: TRY QUEENSLAND MAROONS
Scored by Greg Inglis. Kick to come.
And the Maroons hit back! It's the favoured left edge for the Maroons - Slater throws a ball over the top to Inglis, who hits Boyd out wide, before Boyd flicks it back in field for Inglis to dive over for a four-pointer.

33: UNSUCCESSFUL CONVERSION QUEENSLAND MAROONS
Conversion attempt by Johnathan Thurston unsuccessful.
Thurston attempts a conversion from the left sideline, but it's a bad kick and sails well wide.

35: Boyd Cordner is on the field now for the Blues. Hoffman was hit high in a tackle from Hodges a few minutes ago, but he got straight back up. Unfortunately, it seems he was concussed, and he's left the field to be tested.

36: The Maroons are penalised now for stripping a ball off Morris. The Blues kick for touch, and restart their set from the halfway line.

37: The Blues get another penalty now - the Maroons penalised for being well inside the 10 thanks to a fast play the ball from Boyd Cordner.

Gallen opts to attempt the penalty goal.

38: SUCCESSFUL PENALTY GOAL NEW SOUTH WALES BLUES
Penalty goal attempt by Trent Hodkinson successful.
From almost straight in front, Hodkinson adds another two points to the Blues' tally.

39: Less than a minute left in the half - the Blues will be looking to protect the ball for the next 40 seconds.

40: On the last, Hodkinson kicks over the sideline, and we'll go to half time with the Blues leading the Maroons, 14-10.

40: And we're back for the second half! Josh McGuire takes the first hit up of the half.

40: On the last, Thurston kicks high, but Will Hopoate takes the ball with no problems.

41: Hoffman is back on the park, having passed his concussion test. Great news for the Blues.

42: The Maroon's second set, and not a single forward has touched the ball. On the last, Dugan is up a bit shallow. Thurston sees it, kicks in behind him, and then forces him into the in goal for a line dropout.

43: The restart from Josh Dugan is short by his own standards - failing to make the 40 metre line.

44: Thurston throws a big dummy, but Gallen isn't falling for it and wraps him up. The Maroons kick on the last, but the Blues touch it and it's six to go for QLD. Big set in defence here for the Blues.

45: A lot of offloading happening at the moment from the Maroons, only 9 metres out, but so far the Blues defence is holding on.

45: On the last, Smith goes from dummy half, but the markers were never square. Yet another set for the Maroons.

46: On the 3rd, Cherry-Evans turns the ball back on his inside to Matt Gillett, who crashes over just right of the posts. We're going to the Video Ref to check for a possible try - just checking on an obstruction. The on field referee's decision is TRY...

46: TRY QUEENSLAND MAROONS
Scored by Matt Gillett. Kick to come.
And the video referee awards the TRY! The Maroons even things up, with a kick to come.

47: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION QUEENSLAND MAROONS
Conversion attempt by Johnathan Thurston successful.
Thurston adds the extras, and the Maroons take the lead for the first time in this game.

49: The crowd figure has been released, a record 91513.

49: The Blues kick down field through Robbie Farah, but some heavy pressure from Morris sees Will Chambers fumble the ball into touch.

51: Blues on attack now, their best opportunity of the half so far. A fresh set, only 10 metres from the QLD line.

52: Mitchell Pearce steps and goes for the line, but loses the ball in the tackle. The ball goes backwards off his hands, before Lillyman knocks it on. The Blues will get a scrum feed ten metres out in front of the uprights.

52: The Blues throwing everything at the Maroons, but the QLD defensive line is up fast and looking strong.

53: On the last, the Blues lose 30 metres after a ricochet, and the Maroons will start their set from their 30 metre line.

54: Aaron Woods takes the ball up, but is hit heavily and loses the ball.

56: The Blues are penalised now, and the Maroons opt for the 2 points. Kick to come.

56: SUCCESSFUL PENALTY GOAL QUEENSLAND MAROONS
Penalty goal attempt by Johnathan Thurston successful.
Thurston lines up the kick from straight in front, about 18 metres out. No issues. The Maroons now lead by 4.

59: The game has slowed up considerably at the moment. The Maroons are happy for the game to keep going at it's current slow pace, but the Blues really need to force things to happen if they're to get back in front.

60: A penalty against the Maroons will help - with the QLD side penalised for being inside the 10.

61: The Blues looking slightly better in attack this set.

62: TRY NEW SOUTH WALES BLUES
Scored by Aaron Woods. Kick to come.
And it has paid off! TRY to Aaron Woods. A bit of a show-and-go from the big man, beating Matt Scott and Billy Slater and slamming down just to the side of the posts. And the big man is stoked!

63: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION NEW SOUTH WALES BLUES
Conversion attempt by Trent Hodkinson successful.
Trent Hodkinson with an important kick. He's just left of the uprights, ten metres out and he kicks it. The Blues take the lead again!

65: Heartbreak for NSW fans there! The Blues looked like they had scored for all money, a sprinting Morris finding Mitchell Pearce at speed, who stepped Slater and dived over the line. But it wasn't to be, the referee bringing it back for a forward pass.

65: And now the Maroons make a break down field, but the last pass goes astray.

66: The pace has certaintly lifted in the last few minutes. The QLD side is starting to look tired, and have just been penalised. The Blues will be looking for back-to-back tries.

67: We're going to the video referee for another potential Maroons try. We're just checking for a strip, but its 100 metres down field. Pearce ran the ball looking to make a break, before the ball went to ground. Inglis picked it up, and ran the length of the field to score.

67: But it's NO TRY! Massive let off for the Blues. The video referee has ruled the ball was knocked on by Michael Morgan, and the Blues will get a scrum feed at the Maroons end of the field.

67: James Tamou takes a hit up, before Gallen ball plays on the next tackle.

68: Now Aaron Woods is picked up and dumped in a heavy tackle.

68: 1 metre out - Robbie Farah kicks, and Michael Morgan knocks the ball on. The Blues will get a repeat set.

69: Josh Dugan gets hit hard by Thaiday, and thinks about staying down.

69: The video referee is getting a workout tonight! 2 plays later Josh Dugan looks to have scored - breaking through a Billy Slater tackle, before slamming the ball down over the line. We're just checking the grounding.

69: TRY NEW SOUTH WALES BLUES
Scored by Josh Dugan. Kick to come.
It's a TRY! The Blues extend their lead! Great play from Dugan, running into a big gap and using power and speed to score the try.

70: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION NEW SOUTH WALES BLUES
Conversion attempt by Trent Hodkinson successful.
It's a big kick for Hodkinson, but he's up to the pressure and adds the two points. The Blues lead by 8.

72: The Maroons attempt a short kick off, and come up with the ball. On the last, Thurston kicks high, but is absolutely smashed by Boyd Cordner after the kick.

72: Nothing illegal in that tackle - just a solid, strong hit from Boyd Cordner. Great stuff.

73: Pearce puts a rushed kick in, but Slater tidies it up.

74: And now Thurston has kicked out on the full. He could feel Farah breathing down his neck as he kicked it, and punted it straight over the sideline. Another scuffle breaks out, and Beau Scott is in the thick of it.

74: And now Thurston has kicked out on the full. He could feel Farah breathing down his neck as he kicked it, and punted it straight over the sideline. Another scuffle breaks out, and Beau Scott is in the thick of it.

75: Just under 5 minutes left in the game. Hodkinson rolls the ball over the sideline, and just takes a few extra seconds off the clock.

76: The Maroons lose the ball on halfway, and the Blues get a scrum feed.

77: Merrin flicks a ball out the back, and Farah takes it forward.

78: And again, the Blues roll the ball over the sideline, this time through Mitchell Pearce.

78: A penalty goes to Queensland and a push-and-shove breaks out again, but the referee reminds them that the clock is still running...

80: Less than 30 seconds remaining in the game, and Cherry Evans is absolutely belted by Jennings.

80: And that's the game! The Blues have ran out winners 26-14, on the back of some dominance in the forwards and an improved defensive performance out wide in the second half. The series is all locked up at 1-1, and we'll head to Suncorp Stadium on July 8 for the decider.