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After eight consecutive series losses at the hands of the Queensland Maroons, the Blues have finally reclaimed the State of Origin trophy, with a gritty 6-4 win at Homebush.
It wasn’t pretty. In fact, calling the game ugly would be massive compliment. Few of the 80 minutes of play in Sydney last night will be used in promotional material to win new fans to rugby league.
Yet coach Laurie Daley and his players – not to mention NSW fans – will struggle to care less, for the Blues have finally ended Queensland’s reign.
Though there were numerous talking points from last night’s game, here are my top five:
Hats off to Queensland
I implore all New South Welshmen to put their passion and lack of objectivity to the side just for a minute, and recognise how truly great this Queensland side have been. They deserve all the kudos that come their way, because they’ve been nothing short of amazing.
The thought of one state winning eight series in a row would have been considered ludicrous nine years ago, but here we stand, applauding the Blues for putting an end to an astonishing Queensland dynasty.
Queensland have played wonderful football, and some incarnation of the Maroons side over the last eight years should be considered the best rugby league team of all time.
If the previous paragraphs sounds like a eulogy, I can assure you this Queensland team is far from dead. It’s important to remember that they could have easily won both games, and there is absolutely nothing to suggest they’ll be down for too long.
NSW should be extremely proud they have finally broken through and won a series, but as Mal Meninga said last night, let’s keep things in perspective: Queensland have lost one series in the last nine.
And make no mistake; the bar has now been set. One series is a row is nothing to get too excited about. The standard is far higher because of this amazing football team.
Well done Queensland.
Niggle, niggle
There’s always a lot more passion in Origin games than your standard NRL match. With that passion comes a little ‘extra curricular activity’, shall we say. However, I struggle to remember an Origin game with more niggle than last night’s encounter.
It seemed like every kicker was hit late. Facial massages in tackles were allowed without even a hint of a warning, let alone a penalty being given. There were slaps to the face, elbows to the jaw, cheeky jabs, dangerous lifting tackles, and plenty of colourful language being used, all right from the kick-off.
It was a rough, tough, and often dirty, game.
It some respects, you have to give the referees credit for being consistent. Once they had decided to let some of the early junk go without penalty, they were almost compelled to call the rest of the game in the same fashion.
By the same token, it was hardly surprising that the last 15 minutes of play threatened to erupt into a full-on fight on several occasions, with a number of players telling the referees they had lost control.
We could argue for days on which team was the bigger perpetrator, but there is little debate on which team handled it better.
If you need evidence to come to your conclusion, look no further than Johnathan Thurston losing his cool with Josh Reynolds towards the end of the game.
NSW were a little lucky
Queensland were the better side for much of the match, and I doubt anyone would begrudge them if they had actually won the game. Yet the Maroons, much like the Blues over recent years, just couldn’t land the killer punch.
In the second half, the Maroons had the Blues on the ropes, but continually made errors that allowed NSW to stay in the game, and with the amount of repeat sets NSW had, you assumed – or hoped, depending on your geographical location – that they would eventually make Queensland pay.
They did.
I couldn’t help but feel that the Blues were a little fortunate to win the game, but Queensland had every chance to remove luck from the equation, and couldn’t quite get the job done.
Four Origin moments
There were four moments that typified the Origin spirit, and had a massive impact on the game.
1. Josh Reynolds lunging at a ball that would have been a Daly Cherry-Evans try if the Blues five-eighth hadn’t got his boot to the ball at the last moment.
2. Sam Thaiday knocking the ball on when a certain try was on offer, primarily due to a Jarryd Hayne tackle.
3. Daniel Tupou holding Brent Tate back after the Maroons winger had re-gathered a kick and was just inches away from scoring a try.
4. Michael Jennings tackling Justin Hodges in-goal to force a drop-out.
What strikes me as remarkable about all four moments is that they’re normally the type of plays that Queensland make.
As I said in my Origin preview, the Blues’ victory in Origin 1 was a turning point. We’ve often heard how State of Origin matches can be decided by the smallest of margins, and the little one per cent plays can have a dramatic influence upon the end result.
It’s therefore no coincidence that when the 2014 series is reflected upon, NSW will be the team that is remembered as creating the small, yet defining, moments within the first two games.
Did Aaron Woods touch it?
I can’t believe this was actually a debate coming out of the game. Did the Tigers prop touch the ball before it went dead? Seriously? That’s really a question?
Yes. It clearly hit his chest. This is not even open for discussion. It happened.
The referees made a mistake. A slightly forgivable and understandable one, especially if you’re from south of the border, but a mistake all the same. And a big one, considering the match circumstances, and how it robbed Queensland of the opportunity to attack the NSW line.
Having said that, it was a poor kick and probably deserved to go over the dead ball line anyway.
Plus, as I mentioned in my Origin preview, whichever team won was going to be the recipient of a little bit of luck, and this was the Blues’ piece of good fortune.
Queensland fans can make a big deal of the non-call if they like – NSW fans would certainly do the same if the situation was reversed – but NSW deserve their series victory, and I hope not too much commentary is reserved for this one incident.