The decision to return rugby league’s showpiece event to Victoria was criticised in some quarters.

But a State of Origin record crowd of 91,513 packed the MCG to create a unique backdrop for New South Wales’ stirring, series-levelling 26-18 triumph over Queensland in game two.

Following a close, but dour, opening encounter, the Maroons were hot favourites to clinch their ninth series success in 10 seasons – and at several stages there was a sense of inevitability that they would finish over the top of the Blues – or that the reigning champs would simply beat themselves.

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But Laurie Daley’s charges produced one of the finest last 20 minutes ever witnessed in the Origin arena to seal a stunning win.

If the Blues were to be any chance of saving the series, getting off to a flyer was imperative. And they did just that when Michael Jennings slipped through some shoddy defence in the fourth minute before the Maroons had even touched the ball.

But the 6-0 advantage was confidence-shatteringly brief. A slick interchange between Queensland engine-room stalwarts Cameron Smith, Corey Parker and Matt Scott saw the latter crash over under the posts for his maiden Origin try.

The Blues surround Josh Dugan after his try put them in control. Photo: Getty

NSW regrouped impressively, however. Blues skipper Paul Gallen’s inflammatory pre-game comments about their opponents’ ‘grubby’ tactics virtually ensured tempers would flare fairly early on, and a mismatched dust-up between James Tamou and Billy Slater ramped up the intensity.

It was the underdogs who took the immediate ascendancy after the interruption.

Maligned for his kicking game (among other deficiencies) in 13 previous Origins, Mitchell Pearce hoisted a pinpoint bomb for Josh Morris to produce as close to an ‘Up There Cazaly’ moment at the home of Aussie Rules as this match was going to get, plucking the ball from mid-air and planting it for the Blues’ second.

Jennings was making centre opponent Justin Hodges look every one of his 33 years, repeatedly making inroads and causing headaches for Queensland’s right-side defence.

But the Maroons’ left centre, Greg Inglis, so quiet and ineffective in the series opener, was having an equally emphatic influence on the match.

After several damaging charges, Inglis took a brilliant offload from Slater, put Darius Boyd away down the sideline and magically reappeared to accept the return pass from his winger and bag his record 16th Origin touchdown.

The impact of Cooper Cronk’s absence was palpable during the first half, with passes going to ground and kicks hitting blue jumpers on the chest.

The under-fire Daly Cherry-Evans had an ordinary first 40, unable to settle into a groove in the No.7 jumper in a repeat of last year’s series – and things barely improved for the Manly gun.

A curious decision to take a shot at goal late in the half nevertheless provided the Blues with a 14-10 lead at the break.

The experience and genius of Queensland’s key-position players – the difference between these two sides in the eyes of many – swung the momentum in the opening stages of the second stanza.

Greg Inglis thought he’d scored, but the video referee ruled there had been an earlier infringement. Photo: Getty

An early-tackle kick by Cameron Smith and a valiant chase by Johnathan Thurston to somehow barrel Josh Dugan into the in-goal was the precursor to three more subsequent sets in possession, which culminated in interchange forward Matt Gillett slamming the ball down next to the upright for a 16-14 scoreline.

The Blues’ ensuing foray inside the opposition 20 after a Will Chambers blunder came to nought, Pearce and Trent Hodkinson seeming bereft of ideas, and the Maroons extended their lead to four courtesy of a Thurston penalty goal.

In a carbon copy of game one, the contest slipped into a dull holding pattern in the middle stages of the half – which played right into the cool-headed Queenslanders’ hands.

Then a bolt from the sky-blue that rattled everything you thought you knew about the mettle and make-up of these teams arrived in the 62nd minute.

NSW’s front-row anchor Aaron Woods dummied, stepped past his opposite Scott and stormed over for a levelling try, before Hodkinson nudged over the go-ahead conversion – 20-18 with 17 minutes to play.

Pearce looked set to bury so many Origin demons by finishing off a brilliant NSW movement in the ensuing set, but Brett Morris’ pass to the five-eighth was contentiously ruled forward.

It almost went tragically awry for the Roosters linchpin when he lost possession and Inglis ran 80 metres to dot down soon afterwards.

But in a decision destined to go down in the Origin annals as controversially as Inglis’ match-sealing try in the last match Melbourne hosted, the 2012 series opener, the video referee ruled a Michael Morgan knock-on rather than an infringement on Pearce.

A superb angle by Dugan onto a deft Hodkinson pass allowed the fullback to land the killer blow with 10 minutes remaining. Hodkinson’s conversion edged the Blues out to an eight-point lead.

The moment when Michael Morgan was ruled to have stripped the ball from Mitchell Pearce. Photo: Getty

There would be no miracle comeback that was one of the hallmarks of Queensland’s eight-year reign. Despite finding themselves in the unfamiliar position of comfortable leaders, NSW kept the foot on the throat with aggressive, enthusiastic and well-organised defence.

The out-of-sorts Hodkinson was adequate, and things so very nearly went pear-shaped for Pearce. But they certainly weren’t outplayed by their opposites – Cherry-Evans’ performance was clumsy and confused, while Thurston struggled for rhythm and was expertly harried by the Blues.

But while the likes of man-of-the-match Jennings and Dugan were sensational, it was the NSW forwards unit that won the day. They lifted a couple of gears in that remarkable last quarter of the match and left the Queensland pack in their dust.

Origin has a funny way of regenerating itself when its lustre is questioned. The plodding series opener is now a distant memory after a classic at the MCG which surely ranks as one of the Blues’ finest wins.

Despite the Inglis no-try ruling, the Maroons would be hard-pressed begrudging the Blues of their win, while there were a number of positives for them to take out of the loss heading into game three.

Now onto a Brisbane decider that will harbour as much interest and as many subplots as any in Origin history: will Gallen’s rib injury keep him out? Are Queensland an ageing force? Can NSW win their first game three decider in a decade? Is Cronk going to return to save the Maroons? Were Pearce and Hodkinson, in fact, the right choice for the Blues?

It will be a match to resolve whether last year was a mere aberration, or the dawn of a dominant Blues era – one that seemed a long way away just three weeks ago.