'Superhuman': Cameron Munster breaks down in tears in emotional scenes after Maroons clinch Origin shield in boilover

There was not a breath of wind at Sydney Olympic Park on Wednesday night but the Blues were blown off the park, going down 24-12 in the decider at the hands of a more organised, cleaner and hungrier Maroons outfit that snatched back the State of Origin shield in enemy territory.

Inspired by the tragic circumstances in which captain Cameron Munster somehow got himself up for the game, a Queensland team wearing black armbands in honour of the skipper's late father dominated NSW in the first half and did enough in the second to inscribe a famous victory in the history books.

Munster was in tears as the siren reverberated throughout Accor Stadium, overwhelmed by the team's shield-clinching victory only a few days after the sudden death of his dad, Steven, at just 58 years of age.

READ MORE: Gus, Joey lament 'terrible' Blues as blowtorch turns on Laurie

READ MORE: 'Can't believe it': Dearden caps stunning rise with Wally win

READ MORE: Blues skipper's phenomenal response to brutal loss

"To my mum, my sister, my partner Bianca and the kids, I just want to say thank you for getting behind me this week," Munster said in his captain's address on the dais, choking back tears.

"I know it's been a tough time, but I guess at the end of the day that's life.

"I just want to appreciate everyone that's been around me and made this week so special."

NSW legend Andrew Johns watched on in awe of Munster.

"He goes down in Origin folklore," the Immortal said on the Nine broadcast.

"You can see what his teammates think of the captain. They have lifted. Superhuman from some of these players."

Munster's halves partner, young No.7 Tom Dearden, won man of the match and man of the series.

He had heartfelt words for Munster.

"I looked at my halves partner in Cameron Munster and he just makes you feel so comfortable and I'm just proud to wear the jersey and to get the win like we did tonight," Dearden said on the Nine coverage.

Munster did the bulk of the kicking for the Maroons, putting in 17 kicks for 479 metres on a perfect winter's night. The 30-year-old also forced a goal-line drop-out and made 21 tackles.

The Maroons were playing a Blues side widely regarded superior on paper, but from the moment Harry Grant mowed down Liam Martin as the rampaging NSW back-rower made a line break down the right edge in the opening minutes, Queensland looked virtually unchallenged.

Re-live the 2025 State of Origin series exclusively live and free on Nine and 9Now.

Billy Slater's men took a 20-0 lead into half-time on the back of tries scored by Xavier Coates, Dearden and Grant.

They opened the scoring when Valentine Holmes knocked over a penalty goal in the eighth minute after Stephen Crichton had caught Kurt Capewell high.

In the 18th minute, Zac Lomax rushed in off his wing and failed to tackle Origin debutant Gehamat Shibasaki, who brushed past him and got the ball to an unmarked Coates.

Dearden scored two tries in his man-of-the-match performance, to go with a line break, a line break assist, 16 runs for 148 metres, 11 kicks for 515 metres and 27 tackles, including a phenomenal cover tackle to deny Brian To'o a try.

The first of Dearden's tries came in an opportunistic passage of play down the right sideline in the 27th minute, after Robert Toia had thrown the ball in field as Latrell Mitchell and To'o tried to heave him into touch. Fullback Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow swooped on a ground ball, drew his opposite number, Dylan Edwards, and passed to Dearden who raced away to score.

The Maroons' half of domination was then capped with a 39th-minute try scored by Grant, who took a scoot from dummy-half, collided with the woodwork and got the ball down.

The Blues bagged the opening try of the second half through Stephen Crichton, breathing life into their faint victory hopes shortly before the hour mark, but Dearden grabbed his second four-pointer in the 74th minute to put the result beyond doubt.

The first half in particular was punctuated by NSW errors that spelt trouble for the home side.

Eyes rolled when a far-too-deep kick by Jarome Luai was gobbled up by Holmes in the in-goal area. There were also numerous wayward passes that went to ground, and Toia took a run late in the half in which he beat Mitchell comprehensively.

The half-time stats sheet made for alarming reading for NSW fans, and glorious reading for Queenslanders.

The Maroons had 57 per cent of possession in the first half, completed at 100 per cent to the Blues' 86, made 1012 run metres to the home side's 777, racked up 551 kick metres to 356, and had four fewer missed tackles.

"It's special. I'm lost for words," Queensland workhorse Patrick Carrigan told Wide World of Sports in the sheds. "We're a tight-knit group, connected, and we love our state."