LIVE COMMENTARY (Be sure to refresh your browser regularly)
Queensland - 18 New South Wales - 14
FULLTIME - Brilliant game of rugby league comes to a close and it's Queensland who emerge from the rubble. What a way to kick-off the 2019 series. Click here for the full wrap.
80 mins - NSW with one final dice roll...Cleary chips for his wing but the ball rolls into touch, and that will be it.
79 mins - Mitchell in space! Bumps off Ponga but the scrambling defence manages to him to ground metres short. Back in the other direction they go, Hunt hammers Cleary to force the knock on. That may well do us.
78 mins - Tedesco takes tackle on on the NSW 30m.
77 mins - Spiralling bomb from Cleary, well taken Gagai.
75 mins - TRY NSW - Cody Walker creates some room for Cotric who links with Trbojevic, under the black dot he goes. Conversion an easy one. This should a be great final five. (QLD 18-14)
74 mins - Scrum NSW 30m out. Is there life in them yet?
71 mins - TRY QUEENSLAND - Laser skip pass right on the money from Ponga to send Gagai soaring into the corner for his second try in almost as many minutes. That's likely the nail in the Blues' coffin. POnga curls one over from wide yet again, what a game he's had. (Qld 18-8)
70 mins -Tedesco fumbles on the first tackle after the kick clearance! Qld right back on attack...
68 mins - TRY QUEENSLAND - Interception by Gagai! That was an absolute gift-wrapped ball from Wighton and it's happily accepted, Gagai going 90 metres to score what could be a decisive try. Ponga's conversion just wide, but the Maroons have their first lead. (Qld 12-8)
66 mins - NSW with some rare field position, six tackles and 5m short...
64 mins - Blues stray hand gives Qld a fresh set, 20 out. Fortunate deflection on the next tackle falls into Addo-Carr's arms, they're off the hook. Huge let-off, they had a two-man overlap to the right.
62 mins - 80m set for Qld, constantly threatening. NSW at odds, Cordner forced to kick.
61 mins - Big set from the restart from Qld, NSW trapped yet again from the clearance, 3rd tackle and still within their own 20m.
59 mins - No, they're opting to take the easy two points to square the scores. Ponga does the honours. All the momentum with the hosts in the 2nd half so far. (8-8)
58 mins - Pinpoint grubber sits up for the chasing Gillet right on the line, can't pull it in but the ref wants to send this upstairs for what looks to be a clear early tackle from Mitchell. Mitchell is on his way to the sinbin for his troubles and Qld will have another crack.
57 mins - Suncorp erupts after a mammoth defensive effort sees NSW gain just 9m from their set. Qld take tackle 2 30m out...
56 mins - Gagai dragged down just short. Morgan is over the line from a lovely Munster ball, spins to try to put the ball down but it doesn't look like he was able to. Tedesco is the man to save the day for NSW. Last tackle turnover. Qld really on top at the moment.
55 mins - Silly penalty conceded by Haas, hands all over the ball at the play. DCE with a beaut of a touchfinder and Qld will attack from 20m out.
53 mins - TRY QUEENSLAND - Oates has the aerial touchdown he missed out in the first half. Lovely flat cut-out ball from Ponga to set him on track to the line and the rangey wing does the rest. Beautiful finish with the one-handed putdown. Ponga slots the conversion from as wide as he could possibly go. (NSW 8-6)
50 mins - Gagai takes tackle one at halfway. Papali'i rumbles for 15m. Munster puts in an awkward grubber, rebounds to Morris and Qld defenders rush in to drag him back behnd his goalline. Six more for the Maroons.
47 mins - Tedesco with excellent metres thorugh the middle, Cook picks up more from dummy half. Ponga swoops to pick up the grubber and bring it 10m out.
45 mins - Qld defence strong. Murray looks to play one far too quickly and fumbles. Scrum Qld in the shadow of their own goalposts.
44 mins - Killer 5th tackle penalty for NSW, McGuire putting too much pressure on the neck as the marker. NSW to luanch from 20m out now...
42 mins - Ponga makes a meal of regathering the clearance, oddly falling backwards as he takes the high ball. Somehow a rugby legaue ball is dropped and NOT called a knock on. Mark this day down.
41 mins - Blues kick off. Sloppy ball on the fifth, Ponga creates a mini-something out of nothing, Chambers grubbers and Tedesco cleans up.
Second half underway...
HALFTIME - Breathtaking half of high quality rugby league. Queensland have had more chances - two disallowed tries - but haven't been able to crack this wall of NSW defence.
39 mins - Munster fends twice, can't find support. Pops backup on the next play with a poor pass and NSW have held out. Superb defence.
38 mins - Penalty for offside and Qld's count restarts, Mitchell at fault.
36 mins - Ben Hunt comes up with the 40/20! Great chance here for the hosts to strike before halftime.
35 mins - Cody Walker puts Mitchell in some room a few metres short, Chambers swoops in with a big hit to shutdown the threat.
34 mins - DCE bombs, Tedesco up to the task again. Blues are at a perfect 100% completion rate, 18 of 18 sets.
32 mins - Munster dummies, steps and beats Mitchell, into acres of space he goes. Great ball finds Chambers but he can't link with the inside support a metre out from the tryline, Tedesco is there to clean up. Forward pass called. Chambers should've done better there.
31 mins - Incredible set for NSW ends with Ponga battling his way out of the in-goal.
29 mins - Brilliant work from Cherry-Evans whose grubber finds its intended target in the left-hand upright, Ofahengaue toes ahead and Napa looks to have dotted down. Ref goes upstairs. Replays suggest there could be a knock-on, and the video ref agrees. There was decent chunk of Napa's forearm on it, but not enough downward pressure.
28 mins - Munster puts on a huge left foot step, goes close but the NSW defence is there just in the nick of time.
27 mins - Ponga put into a gap, one-on-one with Tedesco 20 out, Tedesco is up to the task. Penalty Qld, another great chance here. Fresh set 20m out...
26 mins - Addo-Carr with a bruillaint return. Cook bursts clear again, 30m gain, flicks a ball back inside. NSW 10m out...Cleary's kick wide is poor, DCE puts Gagi away, just scragged by Haas.
24 mins - Tedesco tucks it and goes himself in space, pulled down inches short. Cook grubbers, Ponga cleans up and the Maroons have survived....just.
22 mins - Morris steps inside two, beats another for a 20m gain. NSW clear and Ponga returns with energy. Knock-on at dummy half by Qld, here's another quality chance for NSW to strike, scrum 40m out.
20 mins - TRY BLUES - Slick play by Tedesco who puts a move on Munster to create an overlap, finds Morris who powers his way over the line from a metre out. Cleary slots in from a tricky angle to extend the lead. (NSW 8-0)
19 mins - NSW penalty, 4th tackle 10m out now...Cook with a sneaky grubber from a metere out is fumbled by Munster. Ref wants to check for a try here, Munster only just got his hand to it. Goal line dropout it is.
18 mins - DCE looks like he's put Oates over in the corner but the referee sends it upstairs on a no try call, Oates clearly put a foot in touch as he dived to dot down. They really bombed one back on the right edge, simple ball back inside and DCE would've scored.
17 mins - Chambers in space 20m, pulled down just short...
16 mins - Addo-Carr returns strongly yet again. Cook is clear! Colects a lovely short ball and NSW are 10m out...Walker's chip sits up in the ingoal but Gagai manages to make it back into play.
14 mins - Solid 60m return from the restart, punctuated by a great Cleary bomb that Ponga has to scramble to pull in and he's immediately put to ground.
12 mins - Best chance so far, NSW launching from 20m out. Penalty for a second effort tackle from Qld, and NSW have decided to take the gift two points. It is Origin, after all. Cleary does the honours and the deadlock is broken. (NSW 2-0)
11 mins - Gagai knocks down a Mitchell pass and we'll have a scrum, the players taking in some big ones. The pace is frantic so far, it's exhausting just watching this.
11 mins - Frizell launches himself at the receiving Oates, comes up wobbly. Tedesco scoops up the ensuing kick and beats two, cuts inside and is pulled down at halfway. Impactful start for the star fullback.
9 mins - DCE bombs ineffectively, not enough distance on that. Tedesco does well to reel it in among traffic.
7 mins - Still no stoppage to the game. Poor clearance Qld, Addo-Carr takes tackle one at halfway. Morris hustles for metres. Cleary grubbers under the posts, rolls dead just out of reach of the NSW chasers.
6 mins - First burst by Cook from dummy half, tears off 20m. Grubber to the Queensland line is cleaned up well form Ponga, who manages to stay in play despite taking a heavy shot from Mitchell.
4 mins - Assured start from both sides. Ponga gets his first touch and the Blues tacklers swarm. The Knights star then gets caught looking to sneak down the short side on the last tackle, handover it is.
3 mins - Maroons making some good ground through the middle of the paddock, led by Papli'i. Tedesco hammered returning the clearance.
2 mins - Queensland safely through their opening set. Blues work their way out and kick one down the throat of Gagaii, Queensland tackle three at halfway.
1 min - Monster return from the kick-off by David Klemmer to set the tone early for the Blues. 40m opening set and Cleary sends one deep on the fifth.
We're underway...
10:06pm - The teams emerge from the tunnel at Suncorp Stadium and line-up for the anthem. Stand by for the non-singing count...three from the Blues, and that's about that.
9:57pm - NSW coach Brad Fittler is joined by Peter Sterling for a Blues lovefest, immediately followed by Queensland coach Kevin Walters and Fatty Vautin do the same for the Maroons. Smart pairings right there.
9:50pm - Looks like we're set for a 10:10pm kickoff, Kiwi fans...pending the length of Gus Gould's trademark on-field pre-game diatribe, of course. Hang in there, team.
Commentary will start from around 10pm (NZT). In the meantime check out the video above for a preview of tonight's game.
Kia ora and welcome to live updates as Queensland look to get their State of Origin defence off on the right foot on the hallowed Maroons turf of Suncorp Stadium.
It's mate against mate, state against state etc, etc. The off-field drama has almost overshadowed the build up to the game itself, so here's hoping the on-field drama is just as juicy.
We bring you live streaming written commentary, video highlights (be sure to refresh your browser) and all the action.
Betting odds
Queensland - $1.99 New South Wales - $1.79
Pre-match banter:
DCE can be next great Queensland skipper - Langer
All has been forgiven for Daly Cherry-Evans, with Allan Langer declaring the once maligned playmaker can be Queensland's next great State of Origin captain.
Halfback Cherry-Evans already has an impressive comeback story after being named the Maroons' 15th skipper for Wednesday's Origin opener.
It marks just his second game back since ending a three year-exile in last year's Origin III following speculation he had fallen out with senior Queensland players.
But former Maroons captain Langer has upped the ante, declaring the classy No.7 is the man to lead Queensland into a new era.
Cherry-Evans takes over the Maroons reins as they not only look to reclaim the Origin title for the first time in 14 years but also start life without their future Immortals.
The Maroons are fielding a new look side on Wednesday night with three debutants after Greg Inglis and Billy Slater joined fellow greats Cameron Smith, Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk in representative retirement.
"Coming back into the side last year he proved to himself what he can do with the Maroons," Langer said of DCE.
"And with his leadership qualities over the years at NRL club Manly, seeing him at camp this week with the young guys, it has been pretty special."
Asked if Cherry-Evans can be Queensland's next great captain, Langer didn't hesitate.
"I think so. It is the start of a new era bringing these young guys into the squad," he said.
"And with him and (back-rower) Matt Gillett pretty well experienced, hopefully he (DCE) will be there for years to come."
Queensland coach Kevin Walters said Cherry-Evans was ready to step up as skipper.
"Last year when he came in for game three I felt an instant connection with him and knew straight away the leadership in him," he said.
"He has been through so much as a player mentally and I feel that has put him in a really good position to bounce back the way he has.
"He's been absolutely outstanding (in camp). We expect our captain to lead us tomorrow night and DCE will deliver.
"He has done it before for us here last year and I have every expectation that he will do it here again (on Wednesday)."
Back in 2015 Cherry-Evans was booed on Queensland's hallowed ground Suncorp Stadium after rumours he had rubbed Maroons the wrong way and an infamous Gold Coast Titans contract backflip.
But Walters said Maroons fans would welcome Cherry-Evans with open arms on Wednesday night.
"They will love DCE. He showed last year what a player he is in that Maroons jersey," he said.
"And now he is a more experienced, settled player. They are going to absolutely love him."
AAP
