Revealed: The heroic act that makes Origin man of the match Dylan Edwards’ star turn even better than you thought

Dylan Edwards played through suspected knee ligament damage to claim man-of-the-match honours in NSW’s series-clinching State of Origin win.

Edwards was spotted in pain after the Blues’ 14-4 win in game 3 on Wednesday night, and was set to undergo scans later on Thursday.

The initial prognosis for the Penrith fullback is a PCL injury, that usually rules players out for close to a month.

The NSW No.1 was hurt early in the second half but remained faultless at the back and ran 243 metres with ball in hand during the game.

Edwards was already set to miss Penrith’s NRL clash with the Dolphins on Sunday, with the majority of the Panthers’ Origin stars not expected to back up.

Any injury would further prolong Penrith’s run of not fielding their first-choice spine, with Nathan Cleary to return from injury at halfback on Sunday.

‘Dylan injured his right knee early in the second half, he hit the turf and tore his PCL – but it was a great credit to him he was able to play on with it,’ Blues’ doctor Nathan Gibbs said.

‘When you lose a back, it’s hard to cover on the interchange bench. But he played extremely well. He was able to put the pain behind him and perform well. Some players can do it, but many can’t.

Edwards was hurt early in the second half but continued playing through the pain

‘Normally it’s a four to six-week injury. But the fact he was able to keep playing and finish the game, it might be two to three weeks [he is out].’

Edwards’ setback comes at the end of a dramatic series for the NSW rookie.

Named to debut for Origin I ahead of James Tedesco, Edwards was ruled out when he went down with a quad injury four days before the match.

He then scored a try, set up another and bust eight tackles on debut in the Blues’ 38-18 win in Melbourne, before starring again at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night.

‘Teddy is a complete champion of the game, and he always will be,’ Blues coach Michael Maguire said.

Edwards claimed man-of-the-match honours in NSW’s series-clinching win

‘But I just felt it was Dylan’s turn now to have a bit of a crack.

‘To see Dylan play the way he did. He’s been doing that for years. Dylan now has had his opportunity.’

It is not the first time Edwards has played through pain in a big game at Suncorp Stadium, after battling a foot injury during Penrith’s premiership run in 2021.