Billy Slater has called half Tom Dearden one of the best to play the game.
After a superstar performance in Origin 3 – where he scored two tries.
The former Brothers Bulldogs Junior snatched the Wally Lewis medal and scored man of the match.
Dearden had some big boots to fill too – taking the position from Origin legend DCE in game 2.
“First of all, I would just like to thank the Blues for a hard-fought series,” Dearden said on the podium.
“I’ll start by thanking our boys; we had our backs against the wall on the whole series and we really tapped into that Queensland spirit.
“I’m just so proud to be a Queenslander tonight, so, thank you very much.”
Dearden finished the decider with two tries, 148 run metres, a line break and a tackle break as well as 509 kick metres.
“It’s an incredible feeling- I’ve been proud of this group a number of times over the last four years, but I don’t know if I have been any prouder than tonight,” Billy Slater said.
