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After being NSW's punching bag for the better part of 12 years, Mitchell Pearce will wake up on Thursday a State of Origin hero.
Key points:
- Mitchell Pearce went from whipping boy to Origin winner as NSW sealed the series win at the death
- Pearce triggered a 70m passage of play that saw James Tedesco score an incredible try to seal a 26-20 win
- NSW coach Brad Fittler lauds the Blues' own miracle try after racing onto the field in celebration
In his eighth series, the 30-year-old halfback finally laid his hands on the State of Origin shield after the Blues' memorable 26-20 win over Queensland at Sydney's Olympic stadium.
After having the finger pointed at him following series losses in 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2017, it was fitting that the Newcastle playmaker played an important hand in what will go down as arguably New South Wales's most important Origin moment.
"My Origin career has been up and down but this game was just about tonight," Pearce said.
"I got called back in to do a job [as an injury replacement for Nathan Cleary], I just wanted to do my job for the team. We got the win.
"To be honest, for me it feels great but it's going to be good to wake up tomorrow and everyone is happy."
With the scores locked at 20-20 and with the game looking set to go to golden point, Pearce helped trigger a 70-metre movement to victory, firing a long ball for Tom Trbojevic, who in turn put Blake Ferguson into open space.
And when James Tedesco crossed with the final play of the game in front of a sell-out crowd of 82,565, Pearce finally sealed his place as an Origin winner.
"I didn't expect the game to get to that situation where the game was 20-all," Pearce said.
"I thought we played really well for the 20-30 minutes after halftime.
"We created a lot of opportunities and we couldn't land the final punch out.
"There was a lot of line breaks, a lot of good footy, it wasn't ideal. I just saw Turbo out there, I didn't do much at all. Fergo is an athlete and Teddy finished it off."
Blues now have a miracle try of their own
Blues coach Brad Fittler now knows how Wally Lewis felt.
Fifteen years after Mark Coyne's famous miracle try, NSW star James Tedesco etched his own moment in State of Origin folklore by scoring the game-winning try on the final play of the decider.
After Pearce's courageous looping cut out, Trbojevic passed to Ferguson who evaded a diving Corey Norman and tiptoed the sideline.
Ferguson found Tedesco on the inside, who stepped past Moses Mbye to touch down, ending a run of seven straight heartbreaking defeats in Origin deciders against the Maroons.
Not since 2005 have NSW won game three when the series was on the line, which was also the same year the Blues had last defended their shield.
Asked if Tedesco's dramatic try would eclipse Coyne's effort, Fittler said: "That's for you to discuss.
"Was Wally coaching them? The Queenslanders? I reckon I know how Wally felt."
Coyne's try involved the ball going through nine sets of hands, and the width of the Sydney Football Stadium, twice, before the Maroons centre touched down.
Legendary commentator Ray Warren famously said in his call of the game-one game-winner: "That's not a try, that's a miracle."
Highlight reels show Lewis, the coach, raising his hands in jubilation in the crowd.
In contrast, Fittler, who was coaching from the sideline, raced onto the field in celebration before the referees forced NSW to take the ensuing conversion.
"I was a bit nervous. I thought, can they take the try off us because I was on the field?" Fittler said.
"I was actually on the middle of the field, on my own.
"It was a first, I think. It was a fantastic moment. Queensland have done that a lot to us and it was nice to get one back."
Tedesco's big-game reputation grows
Tedesco, who finished the night with two tries and a game-high 222 metres and 10 tackle busts, was awarded the Wally Lewis Medal as the player of the series.
It was yet another matchwinning display that enhanced his reputation as a big-game player, having also starred in the Sydney Roosters' grand final win last year.
Asked if he thought Tedesco, 26, was the best player in the world, Fittler said: "You've got to say [so] at the moment, if you want to start a debate.
"But he's got a long way to go. He's young. He had a couple of big injuries early in his career. I could never see the player he is today at all. I just never saw it. [He's] proved a lot wrong."
Even losing coach Kevin Walters, who banned his team from saying the word NSW or talk about their players, couldn't help but praise the Blues number one.
"He's had a great series for them, Tedesco. Probably been the standout … well he won the Wally Lewis Medal," Walters said.
No Thurston sledging from Pearce
During the Maroons' 52-6 drubbing in the game three decider in 2015, Johnathan Thurston famously sledged Pearce that his only chance of touching the Origin shield was to get a photo with the Wally Lewis statue outside Lang Park.
Pearce said he wouldn't be sending a picture of himself with the shield to Thurston, instead praising his old nemesis.
"Nah mate, JT has won more Origins than I'll ever win, what a super player he was," Pearce said.
"I'm just grateful to get this win and be a part of this. Queensland's legacy — if we can do that, we'll be very happy people.
"They set the benchmark in Origin."
AAP
Topics: state-of-origin, rugby-league, sport, sydney-2000, nsw, brisbane-4000, qld, australia