A penalty try to New South Wales captain Boyd Cordner will be the lasting talking point of an 18-14 State of Origin victory by New South Wales at ANZ Stadium.
Cordner was awarded the controversial decision after Ben Hunt impeded the Blues skipper's path to a James Maloney grubber in behind the defence.
Cordner hit the turf five metres from the in-goal, with Will Chambers cleaning up the ball before the match officials called for a review.
Although centre referee Gerard Sutton gave a 'no-try' signal as his on-field adjudication, the green light was given to a decisive four-pointer.
The ruling allowed New South Wales to take a 12-10 lead into halftime, after Queensland had shot to a 10-0 lead via tries to Valentine Holmes and Dane Gagai.
Gagai was unlucky not to have two tries beside his name, ruled to have grazed the touchline with his knee for what would have been the first points of the game.
Instead, it was Holmes who struck first, blitzing the opposite edge for his sixth try in four Origin games in just the 13th minute.
Seven minutes later, Gagai got his just deserts, palming off Josh Addo-Carr before diving over, with Holmes nailing a sideline conversion.
Addo-Carr returned the favour in the 24th minute, stepping back inside three defenders after a Maloney two-man cut-out pass hit his chest.
It seemed Kalyn Ponga's injection in the second row on the 28th minute would be what set most tongues aflutter, but that sensation was temporary before the Cordner incident.
Another notable factor in the first half was the number of times Cameron Munster ran the attack, receiving the ball close to an astonishing 40 times.
The second stanza started full of promise for Queensland, with a couple of key incisions.
Yet it was Latrell Mitchell who edged NSW further ahead, with a converted try created through pure momentum and Maroon errors.
It took until the 62nd minute for Queensland to arrest the run of three straight tries by NSW, surging over near the right touchline after some key touches by Ponga in the prelude.
Ponga then set about making a lengthy break in the 69th minute which put Queensland in position to pressure the Blues' line.
This time a grubber kick for Gavin Cooper was well-placed, before James Roberts checked the runner.
Instead of the penalty try ruling that NSW received in the first half, officials ruled Tom Trbojevic would have cleaned up the kick, merely giving Roberts 10 minutes in the sin bin.
Over a tense and heated closing stance, Will Chambers was penalised for a bodyslam tackle on James Maloney and Tyrone Peachey was penalised for an attempted trip on Ponga.
In an unfortunate collision, New South Wales leader Cornder left the field in a groggy state after a bullocking run by Queensland prop and Sydney Roosters team-mate Dylan Napa.
Queensland will now look to defend its home turf at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium on July 11 after NSW secured the 2018 Holden State of Origin series with two wins in the opening two games.
NEW SOUTH WALES 18 (Josh Addo-Carr, Boyd Cordner, Latrell Mitchell tries; James Maloney 3 goals) def QUEENSLAND 14 (Valentine Holmes, Dane Gagai, Will Chambers tries; Valentine Holmes goal) at ANZ Stadium, Sydney.
