The biggest show in rugby league is upon us, as Queensland and New South Wales battle it out in State of Origin.

Last year the Blues broke an eight-year Queensland stranglehold on the shield. Who’ll draw first blood in 2015?

LIVE BLOG

10:34pm – Queensland’s Cameron Smith is named man of the match. 

That’s all from The New Daily’s live blog of State of Origin I. Hope you’ve enjoyed it. 

Full-time score:

New South Wales 10

Tries: Morris (20), Scott (26)
Conversions: Hodkinson (28)
Field goals: nil

Queensland 11

Tries: Cronk (13), Chambers (55)
Conversions: Thurston (15)
Field goals: Cronk (74)

10:20pm – “Inspid NSW second half the big story of the night. Pearce and Hodkinson implode,” says Will Evans.

10:12pm – And that’s it Queensland wins 11-10 to draw first blood in the 2015 State of Origin series. Too clinical, too professional in that second half. 

10:07pm – Josh Dugan misses the field goal attempt for New South Wales! High drama here as Dugan misses. Two minutes left. 

10:03pm – Cooper Cronk kicks a field goal to put Queensland 11-10 up. 

10:01pm – “It’s getting a bit turbulent here,” says Ray Warren. Love it. Still NSW 10 Qld 10, 73 minutes gone. Business time.

10:00pm – It falls just short! It was on line, but it fell just short. 

9:59pm – Penalty to Qld. Thurston going to go for a long-range shot here. Thurston upended, slightly controversial decision, but JT will have the shot. 

9:52pm – NSW soaking up a lot of pressure here. Attendance just announced as 80,122.

9:44pm – Johnathan Thurston misses the kick. NSW 10 Qld 10

9:42pm – Try! Queensland hit back. Try to Will Chambers. NSW 10 Qld 10

9:38pm – Greg Inglis having a bit of a nightmare. A bad fumble there. 

9:30pm – Will Evans: “Thurston is the key here – a bit out of sync as the half wore on. If he fires, look out. Inglis needs to get far more involved. Pedestrian so far and bad read in Scott’s try.”

9:29pm – Francis Leach with some decent seats up at ANZ.

Living the dream – loving @anzstadium tonight for @NRL #StateofOrigin pic.twitter.com/PknXpfXBgV

— Francis Leach (@SaintFrankly) May 27, 2015

9:28pm – Second half is underway.

9:26pm – Laurie Daley alleviates any fears about Robbie Farah: “He’s landed on his head and he’s hurt his shoulder.”

9:13pm – We’re going to take breather. What a half of rugby league. Certainly not the biffo of years gone by, but what a contest. 

Half time score:

New South Wales 10

Morris (20) Scott (26)

Queensland 6

Cronk (13)

9:09pm – That’s half time at ANZ Stadium. New South Wales hit back really well after looking a little timid early. NSW lead 10-6. Will Evans says: “Shaping up to be a cracking game after a ho-hum start. Strong comeback from Pearce and Hodkinson – their role in Scott’s try was a real nerve-settler.”

9:05pm – Beautiful kick from Trent Hodkinson for touch there close to half-time. 

8:57pm – Andrew Fifita and David Klemmer into the game for NSW.

8:55pm – Robbie Farah in a bit of strife here. Justin Hodges and Sam Thaiday put him down quite hard in a tackle, and there’s a bit of concern about his arm. He seems to be ok. 

8:53pm – Hodkinson makes no mistake this time. NSW 10 Qld 6.

8:51pm – Try NSW! Beau Scott (he’s got his own fishing show on TV) touches down! The home side starting to take control. Scott breaks through three to touch down. 

8:46pm – I don’t know if I’m more excited about the Entourage trailer, or that kick from Josh Dugan. Trent Hodkinson sprays the conversion attempt. NSW 4 Qld 6 after 21 minutes. “One of the great Origin tries,” says Will Evans. 

8:44pm – Try for NSW! Sizzling kick from Josh Dugan and Josh Morris latched onto it. Dugan hit hard in a clash with Billy Slater after the kick. 

8:42pm – Will’s made another key observation: “Laurie Daley on the Mother energy drinks – only the 250ml though.”

8:40pm – Qld’s experience telling here, says Will Evans:

“Qld’s spine showing every bit of the scores of games they’ve played together; NSW’s spine playing like strangers.”

8:38pm – Johnathan Thurston slots the conversion. NSW 0 Qld 6 after 14 minutes. 

8:37pm – Try! Cooper Cronk touches down for Qld. The Storm trio of Smith, Slater and Cronk been prevalent early on here. NSW 0 Qld 4.

8:36pm – Cam Smith with a kick, but Will Hopoate gets the ball over the dead ball line as Aidan Guerra closed. Qld making most of the running here. 

8:34pm – yes it is a rather sedate start to proceedings here. All very civil. NSW 0 Qld 0 after 10 minutes. 

8:30pm – No try. Slater with a push on Trent Hodkinson, so no try. NSW 0 Qld 0 Our man Will Evans says it’s a good call. Never a try.  “Fairly venom-less opening compared to usual Origin starts.”

8:29pm – Billy Slater claiming a try here. Not sure he got it down. 7:00 on the clock. Thurston with the kick, just waiting on a review to see if Billy got it down…

8:24pm – Good break by Will Chambers down the right hand flank, but it comes to nought. That’s about all to speak of in the early going. Love Corey Parker. Love a good grey-haired athlete. NSW 0 Qld 0

8:22pm – And they’re off. This is not a test. The game has actually started. Qld kick us off. 

8:19pm – National anthem time. Fresh-faced young bloke who stars in Cats. Got that musical theatre accent that annoys me so.

8:18pm – Queenslanders coming out to a typically hostile reception. New South Wales not far behind. 

8:15pm – A tweet from UFC Australia. A portent of approaching biffo?

RT FOR #Blues FAVE FOR #Maroons #soo #stateoforigin pic.twitter.com/1qwrOBxqrn

— UFC Aus/New Zealand (@UFC_AUSNZ) May 27, 2015

8:12pm – Phil Gould is making no sense whatsoever now. He just delivered a David Brent-style motivational speech. 

8:06pm – Gorden Tallis: “I remember taking a deep breath and going ‘wow … Origin’.” Loving the flute under Gordo’s piece to camera here. 

8:01pm – Of course, that’s a bit ridiculous from the Bombers. Given that particular State of Origin is no longer played. 

8:00pm – Essendon footy club getting a bit parochial now:

The REAL State of Origin. #Origin pic.twitter.com/xCo1f81q8S

— Essendon FC (@EssendonFC) May 27, 2015

7:57pm – People complaining about the machismo of the musical display. For Game 2 how about we get Sting to do ‘Fragile’??

7:54pm – Cold Chisel getting interviewed here. Might have brought your guitars boys. Strewth.

7:52pm – Our league expert Will Evans has weighed in on the entertainment. 

“Typically cringe-worthy pre-match entertainment – standard fodder for Origin.”

7:51pm – “We can’t be beaten!!!!” Well, I’ll be humming this ditty all night now…

7:48pm – We’ve got some kind of Japanese-inspired drumming going on now. Quite an intoxicating rhythm. A few power chords now, this is building nicely. It’s Nollsy!!!!!!!! That’s Shannon Noll. And another bloke called Ben. Didn’t catch his surname. This song isn’t really up to much though. 

7:41pm – Kidding.  Ray Warren giving us some quirky trivia about each of the NSW players now. “Beau Scott has his own fishing show on TV. Quite possibly the toughest man in rugby league.”

7:39pm – Sportsbet telling us to gamble responsibly. After telling us we get cash back if our first try scorer scores at ANY point during the game. I’ll be back in a moment…

7:37pm – Mal Meninga being interviewed by Paul Vautin.  “Thanks Mal, stick it up ’em.” “Thanks Fatty.” Love Australia. 

7:30pm – Telecast is underway on Channel 9. We’ve got The Rock, AKA Dwayne Johnson spraffing away about Origin. “Origin. It’s who you are, it’s where you’re from.” Thanks Dwayne. Weird to hear The Rock going on about “Alfie Langer”, “Joey Johns”, “King Wally” and “GI”. Madness.  Gorden Tallis telling us Greg Inglis will bring his boots tonight. Let’s hope so.  Cameron Smith wins the toss for QLD and they’ll kick off. 

7:24pm – Want to wet your whistle or whet your appetite (my limited sport ed’s mind gets those two expressions terribly confused) for tonight’s clash? Here are, in our humble opinion, the 10 greatest State of Origin moments. Ever.

7:12pm – of course, not everyone is interested in Origin. Hugh Radojev is clearly relieved not to have to feign an allegiance any more. Hugh must feel like he’s been released from some kind of repressive Origin prison. Enjoy your freedom Hugh.

One of the best things about living in the UK is that I don’t have to pretend to care about the #StateofOrigin anymore.

— Hugh Radojev (@hradojev) May 27, 2015

7:03pm – The cauldron filling before State of Origin.

It’s looking very blue here already #StateofOrigin pic.twitter.com/Y1B7HPcufu — Cath Webber (@cathwebber) May 27, 2015

7:01pm – Pro surfer Sally Fitzgibbons is looking forward to taking in all the action.

Getting ready to take my seat in Fiji to cheer on mighty Bluessss @NSWRL in Game1 tonight #StateOfOrigin #UpTheBlues pic.twitter.com/ciWypLqAkH — Sally Fitzgibbons (@Sally_Fitz) May 27, 2015

7:00pm – Welcome one and all to The New Daily’s live coverage of State of Origin 1. We’ll be bringing you all the action from ANZ Stadium as it unfolds. 

To get you up to speed, our rugby league expert Will Evans has gone to the trouble of answering all the burning questions for you. And have a look a the key match-ups, and where the game will be won and lost.