NSW residents have drawn first blood in the undercard to State of Origin three with a 28-20 victory over Queensland residents at ANZ Stadium on Wednesday.

The game, which featured players from the NSW and Queensland Cup competitions, was an entertaining affair, with the Blues coming from 20-10 down to see off the Maroons, who finished the game with 11 players.

An all-in brawl 10 minutes from time proved to be the turning point with Queensland's Kieran Whalley and Ryan Simpkins sin-binned for their roles in the bust-up along with Josh Reynolds for NSW.

The Blues took advantage of their numerical advantage to run in two late tries from Kevin Naqaima and skipper Rory Kostjasyn to seal the win.

Queensland captain Dale Cherry-Evans, who plays for Manly's feeder club Sunshine Coast, and tipped to be the Sea Eagles' halfback next season, pulled the strings for his side, scoring a try and kicking four goals.

Melbourne's England international utility Gareth Widdop impressed for NSW, who were coached by former South Sydney mentor Jason Taylor, scoring a try and having a hand in two of his side's six four-pointers.

Donald Malone, Luke Dalziel-Don, Daniel Ogden scored the Maroons' other tries with Sean Meaney, Aiden Guerra and Jamie Simpson going over for the hosts.

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