New South Wales avoided a series clean sweep by edging Queensland 18-4 in a tense third State of Origin clash at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday.

The Blues had to wait until the 73rd minute to seal a hard-fought win, centre Matt King crossing out wide to put the game out of the Maroons' reach.

Debutant Hazem El Masri put gloss on the triumph with a try 90 seconds from the end in front of a crowd of 52,469.

The defeat was not enough to deny Queensland the series 2-1, but it did prevent them from recording the first series whitewash in 12 years.

NSW were the better team for most of the match but botched several try scoring opportunities in the second half through poor decision-making or bad handling

The scene was set for a typical Queensland escape act, but this time the Maroons had nothing left in the tank.

The victory was particularly satisfying for NSW coach Graham Murray, who had come in for heavy criticism following the side's previous two defeats.

NSW winger Jarryd Hayne scored the first try of the match after 21 minutes with a solo effort.

The Eels flanker turned the defence inside out before pushing away Queensland fullback Karmichael Hunt to score.

El Masri knocked over his first Origin goal - a superb effort from the touchline - to extend the visitors' lead to 6-0.

The Blues' joy was shortlived, however.

Three minutes after Hayne's try, Hunt sped into a large gap and gave centre Justin Hodges a clear passage to the line.

Johnathan Thurston's conversion attempt was waved away, leaving the hosts trailing 6-4.

That's the way it stood at half-time following a first half punctuated by mistakes, strong defence and a brawl.

Queensland lock Dallas Johnson was the first victim of the strong defence, knocked cold after going in to halt Brent Kite's charge from the kick-off.

A groggy Johnson was taken from the field and played no further part in the first half.

In the 12th minute a high tackle by Blues lock Paul Gallen on Tonie Carroll sparked a brawl involving up to a dozen players.

Maroons winger Brent Tate was to join Johnson on the sideline just before the break, picking up a knee injury after being smashed attempting a kick and chase.

His wing partner Greg Inglis also limped out of the match after straining a knee.

Centre Matt Cooper was twice denied what appeared certain tries during a frustrating second half for the Blues, once being held up over the line by Steve Bell and dropping the ball with the line in sight on another occasion.

But the visitors eventually wrapped up a deserved win thanks to the late tries from El Masri and King.