Queensland Maroons 18-14 New South Wales BluesWayne Bennett masterminds second-half comebackIn the end, Wayne Bennett’s coaching mastery, his innate ability to inspire his players and get the best out of what he has at his disposal, trumped all else at Adelaide Oval, where his inexperienced and injury-depleted Queensland side staged a comeback for the ages to snatch victory in the 2020 State of Origin series opener.
Down 10-0 at half-time following tries from New South Wales’ Damian Cook and Josh Addo Carr, the game appeared, on the face of it, to be running to the form book. The Blues had arrived in South Australia as heavy favourites to kick off their bid for a three-peat with victory on neutral territory, before heading back to
Sydney to wrap things up in next week’s game two.