out that landed some 8 metres on the Blues side of halfway and was let bounce by NSW fullback Garry Jack instead of catching the ball and putting the Blues back on the attack. Jack fielded the bouncing ball just inside his own quarter line allowing the Qld defence to trap NSW in their own half. From there things just went from bad to worse for NSW as Queensland seemed to make line breaks and score tries at will. Michael Hancock scored two tries in his Origin debut, while Mal Meninga signalled his return to representative football with two tries and four goals of his own. Also scoring for the Maroons were Langer, McIndoe and Bobby Lindner. However, on the night there was none better than Martin Bella whose powerhouse performance in the front row gave the likes of Wally Lewis and Allan Langer the room they needed and earned him the Man of the Match award. The many Blues new faces were overwhelmed and suffered what was New South Wales' biggest losing margin: 30 points. Only a late try to reserve back Andrew Ettingshausen who grounded a kick from his Cronulla club mate Gavin Miller, prevented NSW from losing the game 36–0. Game II Queensland wrapped up the 1989 series in game II in probably their most courageous effort in Origin history. They lost Allan Langer with a broken leg, Mal Meninga with a fractured eye socket and Paul Vautin with an elbow injury by half-time. In the second half, Michael Hancock came off with a bruised shoulder while Bob Lindner played on with a fracture in his ankle which he carried for much of the match before retiring five minutes from the end, leaving the Maroons down to 12 men. Lindner, who stayed on the field despite his injury as there were no reserves left, claimed it was the toughest match in which he had played and Wally Lewis, who scored a memorable 40-metre try, rated it as Queensland's greatest performance. Maroon's coach Beetson was irate at the Blues' intimidating tactics, claiming New South Wales hard man Peter Kelly was allowed by referee Manson to get away with illegal tackling. The day before the game, some NSW players entered Jack Gibson's hotel room to talk to him and were reportedly shocked to find their coach entertaining the enemy. In the room, long-time friends Gibson and Maroons coach Arthur