New South Wales beat Queensland 18-6 on the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane to take a 1-0 collection lead within the State of Origin.
The Blues scored three first-half tries, with winger Zac Lomax grabbing two and Brian To’o the opposite.
That left the Maroons with a mountain to climb however Xavier Coates minimize the deficit within the second half after capitalising on a dealing with error by Latrell Mitchell.
However any hope the Maroons had of a late comeback had been quashed seven minutes from time as Lomax discovered Connor Watson after an excellent one-handed take, who set-up full-back Dylan Edwards to go over.
“That was huge, the best way that we began – our combat and braveness was unbelievable,” stated Lomax.
The victory means defending champions New South Wales claimed back-to-back wins on the Suncorp Stadium for the primary time since 1998.
Queensland should win in sport two in Perth on 18 June to maintain the collection alive earlier than sport three in Sydney on 9 July.
