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Despite making an enormous contribution for New South Wales in State of Origin Game 1, including a couple of massive efforts with the boot, there’s a real possibility the only thing Josh Dugan will be remembered for is missing an all-important field goal.
Dugan’s 77th minute attempt would have seen scores tied up at 11-11, after Cooper Cronk’s drop goal in the 72nd minute had put the Maroons ahead.
But before anyone condemns the man with the largest boots to fill in the NSW side – former fullback Jarryd Hayne was the Blues’ star contributor for much of their wretched eight-year run of losses – it’s worth winding back the clock to the 70th minute.
Full State of Origin 1 wrap:
>> ORIGIN 1 MATCH REPORT
>> FULL ORIGIN RESULTS
>> Live blog and highlights
>> Cameron Smith given man of the match
>> The Roar’s Origin 1 player ratings: Queensland
>> The Roar’s Origin 1 player ratings: New South Wales
With the scores locked at 10-10, the Blues finally had an attacking set in Queensland’s half. That the score had not blown out was testament to the Blues’ defensive steel, particularly after defending repeat sets on their line, during which time the master of commentary subtlety, Phil Gould, had remarked, “Only one team is playing. Only one team is playing. Only Queensland is playing.”
Cheers Gus.
But after Aaron Woods was put in a dangerous position during a tackle, a penalty was blown (which was pretty soft, but Woods had been penalised for a similarly soft lifting tackle not two minutes earlier), and the Blues found themselves in the Maroons’ red zone for the first time in what seemed an eternity.
A couple of tackles ensued, as NSW worked the ball toward the centre of the field, surely with the aim of getting either halfback Trent Hodkinson or five-eighth Mitchell Pearce to take a field-goal attempt.
But then, with a play the ball in the middle of the field, barely 30 out, the Blues shifted it to the right edge. Suddenly it was the fifth and last, and NSW were nowhere near where they needed to be to take the snap.
Instead the ball was spread back to the left side of the field, where Michael Jennings, clearly panicking, put in a shocking grubber which rolled dead.
Queensland were off the hook, and with a seven-tackle set to boot.
Worse was to come, as the Blues seemingly dropped their heads after blowing their best chance to take the lead, and that early defensive resolve unravelled in embarrassing fashion. By the third tackle, Queensland were camped on the Blues’ 20-metre line – an 80-metre turnaround in the space of less than a minute.
Cooper Cronk called for the ball and potted his field goal with such confidence he was running back to prepare for the ensuing kick-off before the ball hit the ground.
11-10 Queensland, after arguably the most disastrous two consecutive sets of six in the history of Origin.
And so we come to the 77th minute, with NSW finally back in an attacking position. Surely a field goal is the only option? Even if the game ended in a draw the result would have been the same for the Blues – only one more victory needed to ensure the series for a second year.
On the fifth tackle, Robbie Farah got the ball at hooker and threw a pass which his teammate had to stretch all the way above his head to catch. Bad enough, but compounding the matter is the Blues captain hasn’t thrown the ball to one of his halves – he’s thrown it to Dugan.
To this point, Dugan had been one of the Blues’ stars, and his boot had been a strong feature of his game – he made a booming 58-metre drop-out during Queensland’s repeat attacking raids, and put ahead the kick which saw Josh Morris score NSW’s opening try.
After taking Farah’s hospital pass, Dugan did his best to regain his balance and composure, and booted the ball at the uprights.
Honestly, it wasn’t the worst field-goal attempt you’ll ever see, but a miss is a miss, whether by an inch or a mile.
The score remained 11-10, and read the same when the siren sounded a few minutes later.
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