Blues take Origin opener
by Dan Koch
Thursday May 27, 2004

A 40m extra-time drop goal to five-eighth Shaun Timmins has handed New South Wales a nail-biting 9-8 win over Queensland in the State of Origin series opener at Telstra Stadium.

It was a typically tight, tough Origin encounter featuring plenty of heavy body contact between two willing forward packs.  Craig Fitzgibbon led the home side to victory with a sterling 83 minute effort which included 19 hit-ups and 49 tackles.  He was well supported by skipper Danny Buderus, whose 42 tackles was complimented by another scheming display at dummy-half, while interchange stars Craig Wing and Willie Mason both had an impact when introduced by coach Phil Gould.

For the visitors, hooker Cameron Smith (52 tackles) and halfback Scott Prince were the standouts. 

Prince, whose career appeared to be at the crossroads when he left the Broncos at the end of 2003 after three injury-plagued seasons, was the game’s most potent attacking weapon, scoring one try and setting up another.  His kicking game was also impressive and with Darren Lockyer expected to be back for game two it now appears the Maroons have two genuine playmaking options in attack.

The match began slowly, lacking a little of the ferocious intensity normally associated with the first 20 minutes of State of Origin football.

The Blues pinned Queensland in their own half, forcing Prince to kick from well inside his half time and again.

However, Michael Hagan’s men soaked up the pressure and with the exception of one burst from dummy-half by Buderus, never looked like cracking the Maroons defence.

As so often happens Queensland made NSW pay for their inability to score, with Prince diving over from close range to score in the 23^rd minute.

Queensland maintained the ascendancy for the remainder of the half, with replacements Ben Ross and Petero Civoniceva dominating the Blues big men.

The Maroons were unable to add to their score before half-time and NSW took full advantage after the break, with Timmins somehow forcing his way through three defenders to slam the ball over the line.

Fitzgibbon’s conversion gave Phil Gould’s men a 6-4 lead, which the Roosters backrower soon extended to 8-4 via a 50^th minute penalty goal.

Queensland, however, continued to punch away at the home side refusing to concede full control of the game’s momentum to the men in sky blue.

In the 61^st minute their determination paid off when Prince stepped past Fitzgibbon before firing a long pass out to former Brisbane teammate Brent Tate who dived over in the corner.

Smith and Fitzgibbon both failed with shots at goal which would have given their side the crucial two-point buffer and when the siren rang in the 80^th minute the two teams could not be separated. 

However, on the back of some great work by Mason and Wing, the Blues got into position early in the “Golden Point” period to snatch victory after perhaps the most disrupted preparation in Origin history due to the “phone sex” scandal which engulfed the squad last week.

In some worrying news for Broncos fans, Queensland skipper Shane Webcke appeared to be struggling for much of the night with what looked to be a rib problem.  The big prop was hit in a driving tackle by three NSW forwards in the early exchanges and despite playing most of the match, certainly looked to be operating well below his best.