A heartbroken Daly Cherry-Evans has fought back tears, calling the NSW Blues "too good", after Queensland gave up the State of Origin shield in a Game II beatdown.
After being on the wrong end of a 50-6 drubbing in Origin I, the Maroons started strongly in front of a raucous crowd at Suncorp Stadium, but were unable to string anything of substance together at the attacking end as the Blues ran out 26-0 winners to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
The scenes at the final siren were a stark contrast to the elation of last year's shock series win for Queensland, with the Maroons skipper left in disbelief at the result.
"I can't believe it's over. They are just too good, the scoreline reflected that. It's such a shame," Cherry-Evans told Nine, wiping away tears as he spoke.
"We did start well, we had all the right intentions but we just had a few things let us down and they were too good and they capitalised."
Queensland endured a tumultuous lead-up to Origin II with the late injury to Reece Walsh and the eligibility controversy around Ronaldo Mulitalo, but Cherry-Evans was not prepared to blame the performance on the team's interrupted preparations.
"Look, we'll never know," Cherry-Evans added when asked about the impacts of the 36 hours leading up to Game II.
"We did the best with what we had out there tonight. We didn't miss the jump, they were just too good, they had all the answers and we didn't have the answers. It's a shame it's all done."
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