{"id":742639,"date":"2026-06-17T16:05:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T16:05:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/742639\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T16:05:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T16:05:18","slug":"state-of-origin-2026-game-2-the-mole-player-ratings-nsw-blues-vs-qld-maroons-dylan-lucas-flops-mitchell-moses-underdone-exclusive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/742639\/","title":{"rendered":"State of Origin 2026 Game 2 The Mole Player Ratings: NSW Blues vs QLD Maroons; Dylan Lucas flops, Mitchell Moses underdone | Exclusive"},"content":{"rendered":"

Billy Slater\u2019s men levelled the series with a dominant second half to steamroll the Blues 44-24<\/a>. The Queensland<\/a> win sets up a game three decider at Suncorp Stadium, tilting the odds back in the Maroons\u2019 favour after they looked to be in trouble at half-time at the MCG<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There were some massive moments, with the Maroons\u2019 superstars standing up when they were needed and some NSW<\/a> guns shrinking in the spotlight. We run the rule over every player\u2019s performance and separate the studs from the duds.<\/p>\n

\"Queensland<\/p>\n

Queensland celebrate a try to prop Lindsay Collins in Wednesday night\u2019s victory over NSW.\u00a0Getty Images<\/p>\n

QUEENSLAND MAROONS <\/p>\n

1 Kalyn Ponga<\/p>\n

Made up for his Sydney sin with a wonderful performance – safe at the back and played a hand in two tries before being ironed out by Staggs<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Rating: 8.5<\/p>\n

2 Selwyn Cobbo<\/p>\n

Superb in game one, even better in game two. Scored three tries, made a line break and produced a trysaver on the dangerous Nawaqanitawase, who did beat him once to score. Rating: 8.5<\/p>\n

3 Robert Toia<\/p>\n

Continues to thrive at the elite level, having a hand in a try and winning his battle with Koula out wide.\u00a0Rating: 7<\/p>\n

4 Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow<\/p>\n

Loved the wide open spaces of the MCG, scoring a try and having a hand in another – way too quick for the Blues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rating: 8<\/p>\n

5 Jojo Fifita<\/p>\n

Strong display highlighted by a memorable first Origin try that all but sealed the result midway through the second half.\u00a0Rating: 7.5<\/p>\n

6 Cameron Munster<\/p>\n

The big stage brought out the best in the Maroons veteran as he put the Blues to the sword with his running and pin-point kicking. One of his finest Origins.\u00a0Rating: 9<\/p>\n

7 Sam Walker<\/p>\n

Worked cleverly in tandem with Munster<\/a> to set the speedy Queensland backline into motion as they carved up the Blues. Goalkicking immaculate from out wide as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rating: 9<\/p>\n

8 Thomas Flegler<\/p>\n

Never quite recovered from the shock of gifting the Blues the first try via a dropped ball and was quiet for the rest of the night.\u00a0Rating: 4<\/p>\n

9 Harry Grant<\/p>\n

Did little out of dummy half in the first half but cut loose in the second as the Blues defence fatigued, helping turn the tide in emphatic fashion.\u00a0Rating: 8<\/p>\n

10 Tino Fa\u2019asuamaleaui<\/p>\n

A tough week, playing after his father passed away<\/a> and copping an early HIA but still ran for over 120 metres.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rating: 7<\/p>\n

11 Briton Nikora<\/p>\n

Had few chances with the ball with the quick outside backs doing all the damage but worked hard in defence.\u00a0Rating: 6<\/p>\n

12 Kurt Capewell<\/p>\n

Similar to Nikora – over-shadowed by the speedsters with the ball but as always, a true pro in defence.\u00a0Rating: 5.5<\/p>\n

13 Reuben Cotter<\/p>\n

The Maroons\u2019 energiser bunny, running for 120 metres and doing plenty of the hard work in defence in the middle.\u00a0Rating: 7<\/p>\n

14 Max Plath<\/p>\n

Dynamic off the bench, having a hand in two tries and coming up with some great effort players.\u00a0Rating: 7.5<\/p>\n

15 Lindsay Collins<\/p>\n

Born to play Origin for Queensland, he was also strong off the pine and was rewarded with a fine try.\u00a0Rating: 7<\/p>\n

16 Kulikefu Finefeuiaki<\/p>\n

Only got eight minutes late in the game when it was already won and lost and had no impact.\u00a0Rating: 3<\/p>\n

17 Trent Loiero<\/p>\n

Queensland won the battle of the bench by a long way, with this bloke also making a huge contribution, scoring a vital try to get his team back from a bad start. <\/p>\n

Rating: 7<\/p>\n

NSW BLUES<\/p>\n

1 James Tedesco<\/p>\n

Safe at the back and ran for a team-high 150 metres but couldn\u2019t find any chinks in the Queensland defence.\u00a0Rating: 7<\/p>\n

\"James<\/p>\n

James Tedesco is tackled by Robert Toia.\u00a0Getty Images<\/p>\n

2 Brian To\u2019o<\/p>\n

Had few chances in a mis-firing Blues backline but handled the pressure the Maroons applied to him well. Rating: 6.5<\/p>\n

5 Tolutau Koula<\/p>\n

Looked a little lost in his second start, making just 10 runs for 90 metres and losing his battle with Toia.\u00a0Rating: 5.5<\/p>\n

4 Kotoni Staggs<\/p>\n

Was handed the opening try but his night went downhill from there – two vital tackle misses, three errors and a sin bin. Needs to go for the decider. Rating: 4<\/p>\n

19 Mark Nawaqanitawase<\/p>\n

Got three difficult chances and came away with two tries – a brilliant debut from a brilliant attacking winger. Rating: 8<\/p>\n

6 Mitchell Moses<\/p>\n

Hadn\u2019t played in a month and should never have been selected over game one hero Ethan Strange – another player who needs to go. Barely sighted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rating: 4<\/p>\n

7 Nathan Cleary<\/p>\n

Not at his dominant best but still laid on two of the Blues\u2019 four tries and kicked well in general play.\u00a0Rating: 7<\/p>\n

8 Payne Haas<\/p>\n

Touted as the Blues\u2019 saviour after missing game one, a major disappointment with a mere 68 running metres.\u00a0Rating: 5.5<\/p>\n

\"Payne<\/p>\n

Payne Haas had a tough night for NSW.\u00a0Getty Images<\/p>\n

9 Reece Robson<\/p>\n

Light years behind Grant in the crucial run from dummy half stakes, making just two runs for 15 metres. NSW need to find a running hooker or the series is lost.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rating: 5<\/p>\n

10 Mitchell Barnett<\/p>\n

Played just 25 minutes and made little impact but did grab a late try to make the score less embarrassing.\u00a0Rating: 5<\/p>\n

11 Hudson Young<\/p>\n

The only Blues forward to run for over 100 metres, tried his heart out but got little support from his mates.\u00a0Rating: 7<\/p>\n

12 Dylan Lucas<\/p>\n

Many players get a deer in the headlights look on Origin debut and sadly he joins the list – played the full 80 minutes yet ran for just 49 metres.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rating: 5.5<\/p>\n

13 Isaah Yeo<\/p>\n

The Blues skipper failed to dent the Maroons line and may find himself on the bench in game three, with Murray a better option at 13.\u00a0Rating: 6<\/p>\n

14 Cameron Murray<\/p>\n

The best of a poor Blues bench, lifting the intensity with his enthusiasm. Needs more game time at Suncorp.\u00a0Rating: 6<\/p>\n

15 Victor Radley<\/p>\n

Worked hard in defence but his two high shot penalties cost the Blues dearly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rating: 5<\/p>\n

16 Addin Fonua-Blake<\/p>\n

Used poorly by the coach, getting just 10 minutes and making four runs. Play him more or drop him for someone in form next time.\u00a0Rating: 3\u00a0<\/p>\n

18 Ethan Strange<\/p>\n

A better starter than bench player, struggled to get into the game with limited minutes and Queensland well on top. Rating: 4<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Billy Slater\u2019s men levelled the series with a dominant second half to steamroll the Blues 44-24. The Queensland…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":742640,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-742639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=742639"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742639\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/742640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=742639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=742639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=742639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}