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manofmatch= [[Chris Close]] }}
Opposing props Rod Morris and [[Newtown Jets|Newtown]]'s [[Steve Bowden]] clashed in an early tackle and punches were thrown. In the ensuing melee, Lewis sought out Terry Lamb and gave him a rugged welcome to interstate football with a number of uppercuts. After 7 minutes of play, the next scrum erupted into a brawl with Bowden and Morris singled out by referee Kevin Steele as the chief instigators, with both then sent to the [[penalty box|sin-bin]] for 10 minutes (though replays indicated that Morris had done most of the punching with Bowden unusually restrained) with NSW receiving a penalty. In that period the Blues raced to a 15-0 lead thanks to their Parramatta connection of Peter Sterling, [[Ray Price (rugby footballer)|Ray Price]], [[Eric Grothe, Sr.|Eric Grothe]] and [[Mick Cronin (rugby league)|Mick Cronin]], with Price and Sterling setting up one try for Grothe and another for Cronin (all four players would later that year feature in the Eels' inaugural premiership victory). This was the second of Grothe's tries for the game, the first came after 13 minutes when he swooped upon a wayward pass by Maroons' [[Hooker (rugby league)|hooker]] [[Greg Conescu]] and raced 95-metres down the touchline, easily out pacing his opposite number [[Mitch Brennan]] and Qld halfback [[Ross Henrick]] before busting through the cover defending tackles of [[Brad Backer]] (coming from the opposite wing) and [[Colin Scott (rugby league)|Colin Scott]] to score in the corner to give the Blues a 5-0 lead after Cronin's sideline conversion. Backer's tackle had actually caused Grothe to fall and he looked to have stopped less than half a metre short, but Scott's subsequent effort hitting the Blues winger as he hit the ground actually dragged him over the line for the try.
With the score 15-0 after less than 20 minutes it looked like the days of old with NSW dominating. However, Queensland took back some momentum just before half-time when winger Backer grabbed a try in the corner off a long pass from McCabe to make it 15-5. NSW had been running the ball our from their own line but lost possession when second rower [[Les Boyd]], thinking he was a decoy runner and not paying attention, didn't realise the ball was being thrown to him. The ball bounced forward off his hip and was regathered by Queensland who scored through Backer just 3 tackles later.
Following the break Lewis sparked a second-half Maroons revival when he stepped past Sterling and went on a long, diagonal run to score a dazzling (and much-replayed) individual try, breaking a late attempt at tackle by Ray Price. Barry Ross told television viewers that Lewis had told him earlier in the day that he was motivated to play well after receiving criticism from the Sydney media for both his selection in the Australian team and his supposedly lackluster form in the tests against France. The media had wanted incumbent test Five-eighth, [[Manly Sea Eagles|Manly-Warringah]]'s [[Alan Thompson (rugby league)|Alan Thompson]], instead of Lewis who they felt was only selected to give the Queensland Rugby League a player in the team. There were 5 Queenslanders in the first test team, but Lewis was the only one not playing in the Sydney premiership.▼
▲Following the break, new Queensland captain Wally Lewis sparked a second-half Maroons revival when he stepped past Sterling and went on a long, diagonal run, breaking a late attempt at tackle by Ray Price to score a dazzling (and much-replayed) individual try
Minutes after the restart came an enduring moment that has become part of Origin folklore. Queensland fullback Colin Scott fielded a kick near halfway and split the defence, bursting past NSW captain Steve Rogers in a 55 metre charge that ended just short of the line thanks to a despairing tackle by Grothe (who had started almost 10 metres behind Scott when he started the chase, showcasing his speed as Scott was no slouch). Grothe clung to Scott's ankles as he waited for his team mates to get back in defence, but in a now-famous image, Maroons centre [[Chris Close]] grabbed Grothe's hair before backhanding him out of the way. Close then picked up the ball from dummy-half and dived through Steve Rogers tackle to score next to the posts. Other NSW players would later claim they hung back from tackling Close as they expected to receive a penalty for the back hander and were surprised when it never came (there were claims that Grothe had injured himself when he tackled Scott, though Close disputes this saying he first yelled at Grothe to let go before back handing him when he didn't move).<ref>{{cite book
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