Trent Waterhouse was sent off, Ben Creagh, who scored two tries, and Sam Thaiday sinbinned and Maroons halfback Johnathan Thurston faces suspension after last night's series finale erupted into old-fashioned Origin violence as NSW prevented a Queensland 3-0 clean sweep to save Craig Bellamy the ignominy of having the worst coaching record in Origin history.
Maroons fans littered the ground with bottles as Waterhouse was dismissed in the 79th minute for knocking out Steve Price as the Queensland prop stood toe to toe with Brett White, and Creagh and Thaiday were sinbinned after another fight when the game restarted.
The game ended with a brawl and referee Shayne Hayne had to stop Michael Crocker from chasing Michael Ennis around the field.
Earlier, Thurston was placed on report six minutes before half-time after leaving David Williams with a bruised and bleeding face when he struck out his left foot to try and prevent the NSW winger from scoring after Maroons fullback Billy Slater had lost the ball in-goal.
Video referees Paul Simpkins and Tim Mander also awarded the first eight-point try in Origin history to the Blues, but there was controversy over the decision as such a ruling can only be made if an act of foul play occurs before a player scores and Williams had already grounded the ball when Thurston booted him in the face.
The bitter verbal exchanges underlined the depth of feeling between the two teams as the Maroons tried to become the first team since NSW in 2000 to complete a 3-0 whitewash and the Blues sought to restore some pride after a record four consecutive series defeats.
Heading into last night's match with just one win as NSW coach since taking over from Graham Murray last season, Bellamy needed a victory to avoid the unwanted distinction of having the worst record of any Origin mentor in the 30 years since the concept began.
The Blues' 28-16 win means that distinction technically rests with former Queensland coach Mark Murray, who had just one win in two series but he can at least claim to have steered the Maroons to a series victory in 1999 after they drew the final match.
Aft er his high shot on Greg Inglis in Origin II, Barrett was singled out for some extra attention by the Queensland players in the opening exchanges of last night's match, with Johnston hitting him late after he'd passed the ball on one occasion and Thurston working the 32-year-old five-eighth over on the ground in another tackle.
Tempers flared over on a number of occasions before the game finally erupted in the 79th minute with the wild brawl that led to Price being taken from the field on a medicab.
Brett Kimmorley was also outstanding, begging the question of how he could have been considered too old for the opening two matches.
By helping to spoil the Maroons celebrations, the Blues may have also prolonged the representative career of Queensland captain Darren Lockyer, who had indicated he would retire from Origin if he was able to lead his state to its first clean sweep since 1995.
NEW SOUTH WALES 28 (B Creagh 2 J Morris D Williams tries M Ennis 3 K Gidley 3 goals) bt QUEENSLAND 16 (J Hodges D Johnson B Slater tries J Thurston 2 goals) at Suncorp Stadium. Referees: Tony Archer, Shayne Hayne. Crowd: 52,439.
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