STATE OF ORIGIN: Patrick Carrigan and Tom Dearden best of beaten Maroons

1 Reece Walsh - 6

Was once again unable to make a mark in a game where he was brutalised by NSW’s forwards, showed a brief glimpse of what he can do with the ball with a line-break at the start of the second half but was outsmarted by Zac Lomax who waited until he got back up to force him into touch.

2 Selwyn Cobbo - 5

Struggled to find the space to bring his pace into the game, ran for just 71 metres - the lowest haul of any outside back - and made two errors.

3 Dane Gagai - 5.5

Looked all of his 33 years, missing the tackle on Bradman Best that led to NSW’s opening try and was generally out-run by the opposition outside backs.

4 Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow - 5

Failed to find an opportunity to inject his blistering pace into the game and derelicted his defensive duties by allowing Mitchell Moses to squeeze through the Queensland line and score NSW’s second try to seal the series.

5 Valentine Holmes - 6

Barely made an impact on the wing after his shift from centre but scored all of Queensland’s points with two straight-forward penalty goals.

6 Tom Dearden - 7.5

In a game short on attacking chances, his best moments came in defence, forcing a knock-on with a big hit on Blues enforcer Liam Martin and made a try-saving tackle on Stephen Crichton, but also showed his running ability with a smart line-break in the first half.

7 Daly Cherry-Evans - 6.5

His kicking game was unusually lacking, failing to come close with an attempted 40-20 early in the set and was unable to put NSW on the back foot. Wasn’t given the creative freedom he had in game I and his frustration boiled over in an off-the-ball run-in with Jarome Luai. Made an important ankle-tap on Best after an early line-break.

15 Moeaki Fotuaika - 7

Put his mark on the game with some early big hits but faded as NSW’s forward pack took the ascendancy as the game progressed, running for 72 metres and making 22 tackles.

14 Harry Grant - 6.5

The Melbourne skipper was below par in the first two games but was elevated to starting hooker ahead of veteran Ben Hunt. Put in a shift in defence but was also liable for Moses’s match-sealer.

16 Felise Kaufusi - 5

Barely featured. Was on the field for just 16 minutes, making five tackles and one solitary run.

11 Kurt Capewell - 6.5

Gave away two early penalties for tipping Stephen Crichton over the horizontal and a late tackle but also showed great physicality, including a crunching tackle on Dylan Edwards to set a brutal opening pace that would continue for much of the game.

8 Reuben Cotter - 7

Made less of an impact than other members of the Queensland forward pack with ball in hand but put in a mountain of work in defence, making 37 tackles.

13 Patrick Carrigan - 8.5

Came out of the sheds at Suncorp fired up but was unable to carry the Maroons to a series win on his broad shoulders alone. Made a game-high 45 tackles, many of which were as hard as you’ll see on a rugby league field, as well as running for 138 metres - the most by a Queenslander.

9 Ben Hunt - 5.5

Dropped to the bench before kick off, came on for Grant in the 24th minute before being sent for an HIA after copping an ugly knee to the head from a charging Spencer Leniu. Made 19 tackles but failed to make an impact in attack.

10 Lindsay Collins - 6.5

Another Queensland forward who muscled up in defence but was unable to make the big metres necessary with ball in hand to give his backs a platform to test the NSW try-line.

12 Jeremiah Nanai - 6

Sin-binned for running late into the melee sparked by his captain and Luai and was unable to replicate the attacking instinct that has helped him becoming the NRL’s top try-scoring forward with North Queensland.

17 Kalyn Ponga - 5

Subbed on in the 52nd minute after returning from a lengthy injury lay-off but despite attempting to inject some much-needed creativity into the Queensland attack came up short.