NSW make State of Origin history with miracle final-minute try

New South Wales fullback James Tedesco finished a miracle try in the final minute to secure back-to-back State of Origin series wins over Queensland for the first time in 14 years.

A first half marred by a high number of penalties ended with the scores level at eight apiece.

Sparked by spectacular solo tries to Tedesco and hooker Damien Cook, the Blues took out the decider in front of 82,565 fans at ANZ Stadium in Sydney.

The dual four-pointers came after a shocking moment that saw Maroons star Michael Morgan knocked out by a teammate’s elbow.

Queensland failed to get a hold on the match after Morgan left the field, with Tedesco crossing just minutes later and Cook extending the lead with a run of his own.

The Maroons threatened to send the game to golden point when Josh McGuire and Josh Papalii scored to level the scores at 20-all with four minutes remaining.

But a 26-20 win was sealed when Tedesco crossed again following a breakaway down the sideline by Blake Ferguson.

Tedesco was fittingly rewarded with the Wally Lewis Medal as the player of the series.

“Awesome feeling to win this game in front of our home crowd,” the Roosters star said on the podium.

The Blues had not won back-to-back series since a hat-trick across 2003-05.

“This is unbelievable. We worked so hard. We had to win our last two and our performance in Perth was outstanding,” captain Boyd Cordner said.

“Not the way we wanted to finish that second half but what a finish.”