Game I
Ten thousand tickets to Game I at Suncorp Stadium were sold in seven minutes when they went on sale in March 2007 and all were sold within four hours. Queensland was the bookies' favourites on match day, despite the loss of Carl Webb to a hamstring injury.
| 23 May 2007 | Queensland | 25–18 | New South Wales | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Attendance: 52,498 Referee/s: Paul Simpkins Man of the Match: Johnathan Thurston |
| Johnathan Thurston (9 - 4g,1fg) Greg Inglis (8 - 2t) Steve Price (4 - 1t) Darren Lockyer (4 - 1t) |
(Report) | Jamie Lyon (6 - 3g) Nathan Hindmarsh (4 - 1t) Matt Cooper (4 - 1t) Jarryd Hayne (4 - 1t) |
Queensland trailed 6-18 at half-time after a spectacular kick-and-chase solo effort by Jarryd Hayne resulted in a try right on halftime. Queensland recovered after the break with three converted tries including one which followed Darren Lockyer's interception of a wild pass made by Hayne near the New South Wales goal line. Johnathan Thurston later kicked a field goal to put the final score at 25-18. This win saw Queensland claim three consecutive match victories for the first time since 1995's shock whitewash. Thurston was named man-of-the-match. The Blues' Danny Buderus and Kurt Gidley were injured in the match, while Maroons' substitute Antonio Kaufusi suffered a season-ending knee injury in his Origin debut.
Read more about this topic: 2007 State Of Origin Series
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“A man’s idea in a card game is war—cruel, devastating and pitiless. A lady’s idea of it is a combination of larceny, embezzlement and burglary.”
—Finley Peter Dunne (1867–1936)