Origin II player ratings: Queensland Maroons

Player ratings for the Queensland Maroons team in their State of Origin II clash with the NSW Blues at ANZ Stadium.

1. Valentine Holmes: Very quiet in his first hit-out since round 20. Safe at the back but little impact in attack. 5/10

2. Xavier Coates: Stunning grounding for the night's opening try and, despite the odd nervy moment, produced more good than bad thereafter as a promising Origin career beckons. 6

3. Kurt Capewell: Was arguably the Maroons' best a week earlier but looked more like a back-rower playing in the centres here. Repeatedly caught out by NSW speedsters with three first-half tries going through his channel. Still had a few bright moments in attack. 4.5

4. Dane Gagai: As so often happens, Gagai was in the conversation for Queensland's best - but more for his defence in this case. Great work to help set up the opening try to Coates before some sensational reads to shut down three Blues attacking raids on his edge. 8

5. Phillip Sami: A number of tries on his edge, plenty weren't his fault but a couple were. Unsighted in attack and the errors crept in as the Blues ran away with it in the second 40. 2.5

6. Cameron Munster: Copped a head knock just two minutes in and while he passed the subsequent HIA, the playmaker took no further part in the game because of his poor balance on the field after the incident. N/A

7. Daly Cherry-Evans: Never stopped trying and did little wrong but had nothing like the platform to work with compared to his dominant Origin I showing. A nice pass for Papalii's second-half try. 7

8. Dunamis Lui: Strong start to his Origin career with a powerful 20-minute opening spell but then left on the bench until the 74th minute, finishing with just seven carries and 17 tackles. 5

9. Jake Friend: The heart of a warrior, once again tackled himself to a standstill but copped plenty of punishment and defence around the ruck was found out by Cook and co. more than in game one with a team-high five missed tackles. 5.5

10. Josh Papalii: Solid first stint as the Maroons held their own through the early salvos and scored a useful try in his second spell but unable to stop the Blues from dominating the battle in the middle of the field. 6

11. Felise Kaufusi: Unusually scratchy defensive outing on the left edge including three misses as the Blues playmakers made hay and only six carries all night. 4.5

12. Jaydn Su'A: Strong start to the game with plenty of sting in his carries and tackles but dropped off thereafter, finishing with three missed tackles and just seven carries. 5

13. Tino Fa'asuamaleaui: One of the Maroons' best. Earned himself a second-half sin bin for a scrap with Payne Haas but added much-needed aggression and was one of just two Maroons forwards to top 100 metres. 6.5

Interchange

14. Ben Hunt: Played all but two minutes of the game in the halves after Munster's early HIA. Came up with some wonderful long kicks but, far more crucially, was part of a shambolic left-edge defensive unit that leaked plenty of tries. 5

15. Lindsay Collins: Announced himself with a monster shot on clubmate Angus Crichton when introduced midway through the first half but had a costly drop soon after. Finished as Maroons' equal-best forward with Fa'asuamaleaui, topping 100 metres and adding plenty of aggression. 6.5

16. Jai Arrow: Fairly busy in his 46 minutes with close to 90 metres from 10 runs but was part of a middle unit that leaked too many metres in the second half. 5

17. Moeaki Fotuaika: Given 26 minutes either side of half-time in his debut. Queensland barely saw the ball in that period as he produced 21 tackles (no misses) but just three carries. One to persist with. 5.5

The views in this article do not necessarily express the opinions of the NRL, ARLC, NRL clubs or state associations.