The Blues, featuring Nowra-born Cody Walker and Bega's Dale Finucane, have now lost 12 of their last 14 at the ground, the 20-14 defeat adding to decades of misery north of the border.

Wally Lewis Medal winner Cameron Munster was the star for the Maroons, the five-eighth orchestrating his team's attack while debutant Harry Grant showed he has a bright future at the interstate arena.

The Blues were on the back foot for the majority of the encounter, Brad Fittler's side defending grimly as Queensland sent wave after wave of attack at the visitors.

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Ultimately the pressure proved too much, the Maroons opening up a 20-6 lead before a late NSW comeback set up a grandstand finish.

Trailing by six, the Blues spent the final four minutes on the attack, Queensland defending with just 12 men after Corey Allan was sent to the sin bin.

The Maroons held firm, however, to secure a series victory that had shades of 1995.

Like 1995, NSW entered the State of Origin as big favourites before they were upset by their rivals.

The win secured Queensland their first series victory since 2017 and consigned Fittler to his first defeat since taking over as coach two years ago.

Maroons coach Wayne Bennett is already being hailed a hero north of the border, some labelling this effort the veteran's biggest achievement.

While he wasn't willing to rank his efforts, the coach did compare this year to his 2001 series victory.

"We achieved something similar in 2001," Bennett said.

"We brought Alf [Allan Langer] back for that third game, the key for us tonight was getting Cameron Munster back on the field for this game.

"We didn't have to bring him from England, we just had to make sure his head was okay."

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Fittler praised the Maroons for outplaying his side, but couldn't put his finger on what went wrong.

"It thought it was a fantastic game," Fittler said.

"They were obviously the better team on the night.

"I don't know [what went wrong], it's hard to say.

"I think they played pretty well, I don't want to take much away form them.

"I thought Cameron Munster was outstanding, he seemed really busy and a lot of what he did come off."

A week after leaving Origin II in just the second minute with a head knock, Munster's impact on his team's attack was significant.

Valentine Holmes opened the scoring in the third minute, finishing off a last-tackle short-side raid orchestrated by the five-eighth.

The Blues hit back through James Tedesco, the fullback pouncing on a spilled kick to level the scores at 6-all.

A concussion ended the NSW captain's game in the 20^th minute, with Clint Gutherson moving to the back and Isaah Yeo stepping into right centre.

That only increased the threat posed by Munster, the Penrith backrower caught out defensively on multiple occasions.

The Blues bravely held on for much of the first half, however it was tough going.

The Maroons were relentless in defence, much of the opening 40 played down the NSW end of the field.

That pressure eventually proved too much, Edrick Lee crossing on on the back of a Munster kick to hand his side a 12-6 lead four minutes before the break.

For the Blues, the try was a devastating blow after 40 minutes of defence.

For Queensland, it was the four-pointer needed to kickstart a relentless second half assault.

Grant put his team on the front foot with their first attacking set of the second stanza, setting the tone for the remainder of the game.

Of particular concern for NSW was their inability to stop the offload, the Tigers hooker eventually making the visitors pay with a try that put his team up 14 points.

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The try came in a half that largely resembled the first, Queensland dominant in both attack and defence.

The Blues, who finished the game with the injured Tedesco and Walker, continued to fight through to the final whistle, Daniel Tupou crossing before a penalty goal cut the gap to six.

That was where the scoring would end, the Maroons claiming the game and their first series since 2017.