Maroons clinch series opener in tough slog

v BYE

Queensland have taken a one-nil lead in the 2016 State of Origin series after downing New South Wales 6-4 in front of over 80,000 fans at ANZ Stadium tonight.

In a low scoring contest that saw no points posted after halftime, the Maroons were able to defend their two-point lead for the entire second 40 - despite several contentious calls which coach Kevin Walters conceded probably went their way.

"They weren't at their best tonight", said Walters. "I'd say we got some favourable calls and you need those to win at this level."

And win they did. Queensland piled on the early pressure, dotting the Blues' line with repeat sets in the opening quarter of the match - but surprisingly only came away with a penalty goal in the 16th minute after Matt Gillett had his leg pulled in a tackle close to the line.

With Johnathan Thurston adding the two to the score, the Maroons looked to secure and extend their two point lead, but it was at that point the home side began to wrestle back the momentum.

New South Wales through halves James Maloney and Adam Reynolds began to secure repeat sets, and eventually the pressure tolled on the visiting defence, with Boyd Cordner screaming through a gap on the edge to score the hosts' opening, and ultimately only, points; the try coming in the 26th minute.

Queensland's try came ten minutes later, with Thurston opting to run the ball on the last tackle, using numbers to the right to eventually put winger Dane Gagai in clear space on the right edge.

Neither Reynolds nor Thurston were able to convert the four-pointers for either side, which meant Thurston's earlier penalty goal was the difference going into the sheds.

The second half provided plenty of flashpoints, but none bearing any points. The Blues looked to have wrestled back control and were about to turn that into a lead around 13 minutes from fulltime, when a Josh Morris try was sent to the Bunker by referee Gerard Sutton. Believing the Bulldogs' centre had touched down for NSW, he sent it upstairs with the famous 'T' signal but his brother Bernard and his colleagues in the control centre at Redfern couldn't find any evidence of Morris grounding the ball - and as such the decision was overturned.

From the ensuing play-the-ball the Blues kicked long and high for the opposite corner where Justin O'Neill was ruled to have lost the ball into a New South Wales opponent - only for the Bunker to bafflingly overturn the decision and award Queensland the scrum feed. From there the home side didn't really challenge the Maroons again and both sides grinded away to a close but uneventful finish.

The win for Queensland bucks a trend of NSW traditionally winning Origin openers at ANZ Stadium, and sets up a daunting Game II in Brisbane where the Maroons will no doubt be heavy favourites to secure a tenth series win in the last eleven years. That game will take place on June 22 at Suncorp Stadium.