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NSW coach Laurie Daley has requested last night’s two Origin referees Gerard Sutton and Ben Cummins be replaced for Origin 2 at Suncorp on June 22.
That staggering news was reported on Channel Nine by the new host Yvonne Sampson during the post-match segment.
For starters, that’s very unlike Daley. Daley is a renowned stickler for doing the right thing by the game.
More from State of Origin 1:
» Five talking points
» The big issues examined
» The Liebke Ratings
» State of Origin Game 1 full time: Queensland hold on to win
» All the action in our live blog
If Daley wanted a change for whatever reason, and last night the refs weren’t the reason why NSW lost 6-4, Daley would take it behind closed doors to NRL boss Todd Greenberg.
Having said that, Origin 1 was one helluva arm wrestle for 80 minutes with only ten points scored. All came in the first half. There were only three kicks at goal, with Johnathan Thurston’s sole penalty success the difference between the two sides.
Played at a cracking pace, players interviewed at game’s end could hardly speak they were so knackered.
The defence on both sides was like Fort Knox, with four moments vital to the outcome.
The NSW try was thanks to James Maloney holding his pass to allow Boyd Cordner to steam onto the ball to touch down.
Thurston was responsible for the Queensland try by holding his pass to draw the NSW defenders before sending Darius Boyd on his way. Boyd unloaded to Justin O’Neill for Dane Gagai to dive over in the corner without a hand on him.
It’s staggering how often Queensland score within five minutes of half time, whether before or after the break.
The other two vital moments were in the second half.
Greg Inglis made a bust, and looked outside to send rookie winger Corey Oates on his way to a try 40m away, but Oates was at least five metres short of support. This forced Inglis to die with the ball.
What Oates did was unforgivable.
Not long afterwards, NSW centre Josh Morris dived for the line, and was awarded the try by Sutton who called for confirmation from the bunker.
As it turned out Morris was centimetres short with Aidan Guerra’s knee and Inglis’ hand preventing the critical four-pointer.
And that was the story of the game, with tremendous defence the highlight.
Queensland backrower Matt Gillett was awarded man of the match by Channel Nine, but fullback Darius Boyd was my selection.
He was rock solid all night even though he was constantly under pressure from either Adam Reynolds or Maloney’s bombs or grubber kicks, or big forwards aiming right at him.
My next choice was Queensland skipper Cameron Smith, the coolest customer on the paddock.
Despite 80 minutes of pressure in the engine room, he led his team to a gutsy victory while celebrating his record-breaking 37th Origin appearance.
My best in Blue was James Maloney who was the go-to man for NSW trying to set up more tries.
But his supports were far too conservative so it’s a pity he didn’t link more often with David Klemmer and Andrew Fifita who were always dangerous with ball in hand.
And rookie fullback Matt Moylan is there to stay, he really is an exciting prospect.
The stats prove there was nothing in this game.
NSW made 333 tackles, Queensland 338.
Both sides missed 15 tackles which was minor in the context of the game.
The penalty count was at 4-all, with NSW having 51 per cent of the possession.
The 80,251 who braved the elements at ANZ Stadium were treated to a dog-eat-dog contest that Queensland deserved to win and with Origin 2 at their fortress Suncorp, the Maroons must be favoured to win yet another series.
And they will no doubt call on their 235 Origin-capped squad of last night, compared to the NSW tally of only 111.
That’s a bag full of Queensland experience.
To counter that, NSW must bring back Michael Ennis for Robbie Farah and Beau Scott for Boyd Cordner if they are going to have any chance of squaring the series with the decider back at ANZ.
Both Ennis and Scott should have been a duty last night, but June 22 will be better late than never.