Queensland stun NSW as Billy Slater gets State of Origin coaching career off to perfect start

Queensland beat NSW 16-10 in the State of Origin opener, defying injuries to Xavier Coates and Jeremiah Nanai to win in Sydney for the first time since 2017.

The Blues opened the scoring through Jack Wighton and the Maroons had more headaches when Coates limped off prior to halftime.

Nanai joined him soon after the break but Queensland opened up a 16-4 lead and then hung on in the final seconds, in front of 80,512 fans at Accor Stadium.

Nick Tedeschi’s full report to follow.