LIVE: Maroons close in on back-to-back Origin titles

Jeremiah Nanai joins successful connected the enactment and it's a procession present astatine Suncorp for Queensland!

Val Holmes converts the effort and it's a 26-point pb for the Maroons now.

It's going to beryllium 2 Origin titles successful 2 attempts for Billy Slater the coach. 

Is that the dagger?

The Maroons whip it retired to the close broadside of the tract attacking Damien Cook successful near centre and Reece Walsh fans it retired to Xavier Coates who converts the effort with a superb acrobatic finish.

"You tin spot his velocity worries defenders, and it disquieted Cook retired of presumption there," Darren Lockyer says connected Nine's coverage.

"That's a effort that's turned the momentum due to the fact that the Blues were coming." 

It's taken 57 minutes but the Blues are yet connected the board! And it's the stand-in centre Damien Cook.

"They conscionable request a small spot of belief. That whitethorn conscionable beryllium the 1 they need," says Paul Gallen connected Nine's coverage.

Stephen Crichton converts the effort and the Blues inactive person a sniff.

The Blues person been fixed a spot of a helping manus from upstairs and Cameron Smith is not happy.

Jarome Luai is held up aft breaking done the defence connected a breached play with a superb tackle from Reece Walsh.

James Tedesco uses his captain's challenge, and portion that's unsuccessful, the Bunker rules that Walsh's tackle was excessively high, giving the Blues the shot and a restart, and Smith is seeing red.

"Stop it. There's been 30 tackles similar that tonight. Please. This is State of Origin. That's embarrassing," the erstwhile QLD skipper says connected Nine's coverage.

Unbelievable! It's different effort for the Maroons!

They've had to support for their lives for ample parts of this contest, but each clip they've gone guardant they've looked similar scoring.

Murray Taulagi puts successful a beauteous small banana footwear and Payne Haas is determination to mop it up but cops an atrocious bounce and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow snaps it up.

Val Holmes misses a beauteous casual conversion kick, but it's retired to a 20-0 pb for the Maroons.

It's starting to get precocious existent aboriginal for Brad Fittler's side. 

Val Holmes strikes the archetypal stroke of the 2nd fractional and it's a agelong mode backmost for the Blues now!

While Holmes is the tryscorer, determination has to beryllium thing said astir the unthinkable Reece Walsh play that got the Maroons up and running.

Mitch Moses enactment a footwear successful and determination was lone Liam Martin retired determination pressuring Walsh.

The young weapon makes a superb drawback and past waltzes done a fistful of Blues defenders for a monolithic 40-metre gain.

"The footwear pursuit conscionable not up to modular from NSW," says a livid Andrew Johns connected Nine's coverage.

The Blues footwear disconnected and Queensland has archetypal usage of it successful the 2nd half.

They're 40 minutes distant from retaining the Shield. Gut cheque clip for Fittler's Blues.

Maroons manager Billy Slater was taken aback by Daly Cherry-Evans' unthinkable try-saver connected Stephen Crichton successful the archetypal half.

"There's been immoderate large plays," helium says.

"That 1 from Chez (Cherry-Evans) to halt Crichton and past the full squad to get backmost determination to assistance out, that's what this squad is each about."