It's all in the name as Ethans fire Blues to U-19 victory
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New South Wales retained their State of Origin U-19s crown with a 32-14 win over Queensland on Thursday night in Redcliffe.
Led by their trio of Ethans – Sanders, Strange and Ferguson – who scored 28 of their side's points, including the first 20, New South Wales powered to what was in the end a comfortable win at Kayo Stadium.
Raiders prospect Strange scored three tries, halfback Sanders – the Player of the Match for the Eels in this year's SG Ball Grand Final – had a double, while Knights product Ferguson scored a try and kicked six goals.
Savelio Tamale was the other try-scorer for Andrew Ryan's side.
The start was a disaster for Queensland, with a Benjamin Te Kura error on the opening set seeing New South Wales take full advantage and score through Strange with just two minutes gone, and it was followed by a spectacular diving finish from Ferguson.
Ferguson takes flight
But it took only three minutes for all that NSW work to be undone, as Queensland scored quickfire tries to take the lead on 22 minutes.
First fullback Chevy Stewart spilled the ball right into the hands of an advancing Timothy Sielaff-Burns as he was trying to escape the in-goal area, ending in a Maroons try, before Wil Sullivan got over and Sielaff-Burns converted for a 10-8 lead.
Back to back for Queensland
But a stunning team try three minutes from the break, finished by Sanders, ensured the visitors took a 14-10 advantage into the sheds.
Just a minute into the second period scores were tied again thanks to a try from Redcliffe centre Caleb Jackson, but Strange then got his second and Ferguson converted to continue the rollercoaster theme.
A spirited dummy-half dart from Tamale secured the young Blues' fifth and stretched their lead to 12, before Strange grabbed his third to blow the final scoreline out.
Match: QLD U19s v NSW U19s
Round 1 -
home Team
QLD U19s
away Team
NSW U19s
Venue: Kayo Stadium, Redcliffe
Match Snapshot
- New South Wales made six line breaks and broke 66 tackles in the win.
- Queensland completed just 61 percent of their sets with the ball.
- Queensland's Mitchell Jennings was sent to the sin bin for a dangerous tackle on nine minutes.
Jennings binned
- The Blues offload seven times while Queensland failed to do so once.
- Queensland had more than double NSW's missed tackles (66 to 31).
Play of the Game
How Ethan Strange managed to keep hold of this ball is anyone's guess. A brilliant effort to keep the ball from hitting the ground as Strange got over for his second of three on the night.
Strange shows his skills
What they Said
"It was a tough game, we started really well and I thought our intent was really good to start; and then all of a sudden Queensland just went bang, bang and were in front of us. But to come away in that second half and change our tact, we kicked along and the boys did a really good job and ended up scoring a few tries.
"But certainly there's some bruised bodies out there after that game." - New South Wales Under 19 coach Andrew Ryan
Under 19 coach Matt Ballin: ‘I couldn’t doubt their effort’
