Queensland misses Origin series sweep in Australia after New South Wales wins Game 3 #Queensland #misses #Origin #series #sweep #Australia #South #Wales #wins #Game

SYDNEY (AP) — Queensland missed out on a series sweep in Australia’s State of Origin after losing Game 3 to New South Wales on Wednesday.

The Queenslanders had already ensured they’d retain the Origin title with victories by 26-18 and 32-6 in the first two games before New South Wales rallied to avoid the sweep with a 24-10 win in front of more than 75,000 fans at Sydney’s Olympic stadium.

The return of veteran South Sydney playmaker Cody Walker at five-eighth added some composure and attacking direction for New South Wales that was missing in the first two games. It earned him the player of the match award.

FILE - Republic of Ireland's Sinead Farrelly, center, greets players after the team's match with the United States in an international friendly soccer match in Austin, Texas, Saturday, April 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

The Women’s World Cup will be played with new programs in place to help protect players and other participants.

FILE - Netherlands' Vivianne Miedema runs with the ball pursued by France's Charlotte Bilbault, left, during the Women Euro 2022 quarterfinals soccer match between France and the Netherlands at the New York Stadium in Rotherham, England, Saturday, July 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Jon Super, File)

Dutch forward Vivianne Miedema and England’s Leah Williamson are among the stars of women’s soccer who won’t be playing in the World Cup.

FILE - Kolkata Knight Riders' Andre Russell plays a shot during Indian Premier League cricket match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Gujarat Titans, in Kolkata, India, Saturday, April 29, 2023. George Bernard Shaw asserted “the English are not very spiritual people so they invented cricket to give them some idea of eternity.” That might explain why cricket has flourished to such an extent in Britain and some of its former colonies but never to the same degree in the United States. (AP Photo Bikas Das, File)

It’s cricket but with a relatively new spin. George Bernard Shaw asserted “the English are not very spiritual people so they invented cricket to give them some idea of eternity.”

United States' Megan Rapinoe (15) looks on at the end of the second half of a FIFA Women's World Cup send-off soccer match against Wales in San Jose, Calif., Sunday, July 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Josie Lepe)

Megan Rapinoe said her decision to announce her retirement before the Women’s World Cup will help the U.S. women’s soccer team better focus on its attempt to win a third straight world championship.

Wingers Brian To’o and Josh Addo-Carr and rookie center Bradman Best scored tries in a frantic 10-minute burst for the Blues to turn a 6-0 deficit into an 18-10 halftime lead.

Queensland backrower David Fifita had opened the scoring and center Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow produced a solo effort near the end of the first half to cross for a four-pointer, ensuring he scored tries in all three games of the series.

Best extended the margin when he scored another try in the second half, which was dominated by defense and tries squandered by both teams.

New South Wales played with the kind of desperation and passion that allowed them to keep in front of the Maroons, who were chasing their first 3-0 sweep of the annual series since 2010.