Nathan Cleary wrote his name into State of Origin folklore, masterminding NSW to a 44-12 triumph over Queensland in Perth on Sunday night to send the series to a decider.
The Penrith superstar scored two tries, set up another two and converted eight-from-eight for a personal haul of 24 points.
Incredibly, Cleary hadn't scored a try in his previous 11 Origin outings.
When he wasn't ticking over the scoreboard, Cleary was grinding the Maroons into the ground with kicks in general play.
The dominant victory followed a 16-10 loss in Sydney with NSW now chasing a win in Brisbane's third game to seal the series from 1-0 for just the fourth time.
Newcastle captain Kalyn Ponga kept Queensland in the contest in a rugged opening 40 minutes but is in doubt for the Knights' clash against the Titans at McDonald Jones Stadium on Friday night after suffering a head knock.
Ponga played a hand in both Maroons' tries. He held up a beautiful pass to put Felise Kaufusi through a hole for the first four-pointer.
Then, the brilliant fullback showed his speed to get outside NSW centre Steven Crichton before offloading on the inside to Valentine Holmes who sent Cameron Munster over.
Ponga was one of only two Queensland players to carry the ball more the 100 metres. His 101m was second to bench forward Pat Carrigan (107m).
However, the custodian's night ended in the 70th minute when hit in a front-on tackle from Clearly.
The Blues' man-of-the-match was put on report for the tackle.
Ponga was sent for a head injury assessment and Channel Nine reported that he had suffered a category one concussion. Ponga has already suffered two head injuries this season and he will have to pass a number of tests to be cleared for the Knights.
Knights centre Dane Gagai should be OK to back-up against the Titans. The Queensland veteran had limited opportunities in attack, running for just 35 metres. He was busy in defence, making 19 tackles.
The Blues kept Queensland to 20 points or less for an incredible 14th consecutive game.
Queensland enjoyed just 29 per cent of the territory and 41 per cent possession and had just six tackles in the Blues' 20-metre zone compared to the Blues' 33.
Tries to Felise Kaufusi and Cameron Munster, both set up by Ponga, put Queensland ahead 12-8 approaching halftime.
But the Blues responded, Brian To'o's crucial try coming after six consecutive sets as referee Ashley Klein penalised Queensland's attempts to slow down the ruck.
Kaufusi was the fall guy, his sin-binning coming just before To'o's go-ahead four-pointer on half-time.
And while they didn't cross again during the 10 minutes he was off the field, the hammering Queensland's defence took eventually told.
Debutant Murray Taulagi dropped a towering Cleary bomb and the halfback then floated a pass for Daniel Tupou to score.
Another Cleary kick had Ponga trapped in goal before NSW five-eight Jarome Luai beat second-gamer Jeremiah Nanai's tackle to score.
And soon after Matt Burton stripped Dane Gagai of possession, Cleary scored his first Origin try in his 12th game.
He wasn't finished, stepping through two defenders to notch a double and continue Queensland's pain in Perth after a 38-6 loss at Optus Stadium on their previous visit in 2019.
It justified coach Brad Fittler's sweeping changes that saw a record-equalling seven Penrith players starting as well as the Panthers 2021 premiership player Burton.
