Sam Thaiday best summed up Queensland’s 11-10 win over NSW in Origin 1 at ANZ Stadium last night, “I’m absolutely knackered after that, we busted our guts out there”.
It was a mighty hard slog all night from both sides with only one genuine bust by NSW fullback Josh Dugan midfield over 40 metres as he pegged Josh Morris out to his right.
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 official New South Wales player ratings
>> The Roar’s official Queensland player ratings
With Dugan’s perfectly placed chip kick bouncing right into Morris’ waiting arms, NSW turned a 6-0 deficit into a 10-6 half-time lead, virtually against the run of play.
That in itself was no mean feat as the Queenslanders were the only side firing in the first 20 minutes.
And after the break, yet again it was all Queensland, which begs the question why didn’t they score a lot more points?
Greg Inglis had one of the quietest games of his stellar career, being hospitalised for three days with a throat infection obviously took its toll.
Quite the opposite for his centre partner Justin Hodges, cut foot and all, who was in the thick of everything.
As was Queensland skipper-hooker Cameron Smith who won his fifth Origin man-of-the-match in 32 starts. Barring injury, Smith will join former skipper Darren Lockyer as the Maroons’ Origin record holder with 36 appearances, during next years series.
Smith constantly kept NSW under pressure. But the Blues were equal to the task, with Queensland scoring only two tries despite enjoying a 63 per cent territory advantage
There was no better defender than NSW captain Robbie Farah who had to have his left shoulder heavily bandaged at the break, but the gutsy little hooker still managed to see out the journey with a game high tackle count of 63.
When winger Will Chambers scored his first Origin try at the 55-minute mark it was locked at 10-all, until Cooper Crock kicked his customary drop goal seven minutes from time.
Dugan had a crack at sending the game into extra time, but his drop goal attempt was well to the right
So 11-10 was a fair result for the 80,122 crowd, which was a serious number when ticket sales were lagging for most of the last week.
In the final result – with the exception of an out-of-sorts Inglis – every player did something of importance, especially the debutants – Josh Jackson and David Klemmer for NSW, and Michael Morgan with Josh McGuire for the Maroons.
So Queensland head one-up for the MCG for Origin 2 on June 17, a virtual home game for Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk.
After the one-point loss, it will take a monumental effort from NSW to retain the shield, with Origin 3 at Suncorp on July 8.
But coach Laurie Daley can take some comfort from the fact his young side more than held their own against the vastly more experienced Queensland outfit.
Simply, Queensland is a damn good rugby league side.
Minge
Guest
How the ref managed to pull out an offside penalty in the 54th minute when Qld were struggling inside their own 20 which enabled them to move up the field and score a try to equal the scores should be looked at in Entertainment weekly...
Pickett
Guest
Good points Sheek. Tupou and Hoppa were very ordinary - agree we need more speed out wide. Very, very disappointed in Fifita. I thought he would kill it off the bench but he made virtually zero ground, and was constantly tackled behind the gain line.
sheek
Roar Guru
Hi David, I think it is fair to say NSW lost this game rather than Qld won it. It's also interesting to observe the one pace of Qld. Had NSW maintained their momentum of the 1st half, they would have won. I'm not denigrating Qld by saying they were one paced. They played as much as they needed to, but I also think they played near their limit. So what does NSW do for the 2nd match? Remember, this was a one point loss, & the win was there for the taking. Pierce & Hodgkinson had a good first half & deserve another opportunity to develop their relationship. By comparison, Cronk & Thurston have been together three years (nine games) before this, while Cronk was a squad member for several years before this. Therefore, Cronk & Thurston can seamlessly transfer their relationship from club to rep footy. Pierce & Hodgkinson must be given time to assimilate. NSW's kick chasing was appalling, & Tupou & Hopate must cop some blame for this. Neither involved them self sufficiently. Alex Johnson must come in to give NSW more outside speed. The interchange bench needs reappraising. Fifita was supposed to bruise the Qld defenders but he was easily contained. I don't know why the NSW pack slackened in the 2nd half but they need to produce a more consistent effort. Jackson was quiet, but he will be better with his debut behind him. The fear for NSW is that Qld couldn't play so quietly again & win. Qld will get better, you would think, & NSW must lift accordingly. They can still do it, but they no longer have any room for error.
Kowalski
Roar Rookie
I missed that one. It hasn't been spoken about at all has it? About to watch the game again.
Darren
Roar Rookie
I understand your pain but I think you may have lost a little objectiveness here. The Slater one was definitely questionable and borderline morally wrong but the Hodges one was within limits... and we are talking of Robbie here. I wrote elsewhere that I actually felt it was a great refereeing display.. of course with exceptions Here is what I found on examination of the refereeing: 3.55 Qld inside the 10 = no penalty 4.08 –Slater has foot on line for kick returned = missed by ref 4.19 –Qld penalty for NSW flopping in tackle = no flop 5.09 NSW in side 10 = no penalty 7.14 Slater try disallowed = questionable 8.35 NSW offside from kick =questionable 10.43 NSW inside the 10 = no penalty 10.50 Qld player taken out in goal = no penalty 11.51 Qld forward pass = no penalty 12.15 NSW inside the 10 = no penalty 16.30 Qld inside the 10 = no penalty 16.55 High tackle from Qld = no penalty 17.10 Qld player taken out = questionable 21.45 Qld inside the 10 = no penalty 22.23 NSW inside the 10 = no penalty 22.33 Qld knock on (play the ball) = NSW kneed the ball 23.48 Qld inside the 10 = no penalty 27.09 NSW knock in the play the ball = No penalty 29.47 NSW head high tackle on Qld = no penalty 29.53 Qld player taken out = no penalty 31.46 NSW player lying in the play the ball = no penalty 32.21 Qld inside the 10 = no penalty 33.33 NSW interfere with the play the ball = no penalty 35.24 Qld hold down NSW in the tackle = no penalty 37.27 Qld 3rd man in tackle after held called = no penalty 38.47 NSW forward pass = no penalty 41.20 Qld holding in tackle = no penalty 42.37 NSW inside the 10 = no penalty 33.00 NSW penalty taken in the air = Questionable 44.14 Qld forward pass = no penalty 49.03 NWS inside the 10 = no penalty 51.00 Qld Chicken wing tackle attempt missed = no penalty 54.26 NSW inside the 10 = no penalty 58.25 Qld hold down in the tackle = no penalty 61.46 NSW inside the 10= no penalty 72.55 NSW inside the 10 = no penalty 77.16 NSW dummy runner as Sheppard = no penalty 77.30 Qld inside the 10 = no penalty 77.41 Qld inside the 10 = no penalty 79.34 NSW (Klemmer) Punch on grounded Qld player (Parker) = no penalty Note that this is only from the broadcast view which means you only get a segment of the action so heaps may have been missed. Also it is my interpretation of the rules which may be questionable.... and I am a Qld'er Love your passion NSWfan
Darren
Roar Rookie
Yep... got that one 79.34 minutes in It was worse as it was not part of an affray or confrontation... just a simple coward act You are surprised it was not mentioned? I said it another article... worst commentary ever; more that just NSW watch the game. maybe 9 need to get that through their heads
dissapointedNSWfan
Guest
SLATER, you have to be kidding! Slater is one of the slimiest and sneakiest dirty players on the field and you can add that Hodges to that list and Smith also. How Slater and Hodges weren't put on report for their illegal tackles is beyond me. And I'm sure that with Slater it must be because he is our international fullback and also Smith is our captain. The refereeing in this SOO 1 game was disgraceful and there were, some very questionable decisions made (pro Qld), at crucial plays in the game. But one thing is and I agree with you and that is, that the referees are allowing too much obstructions and some blatant and dangerous tackles (that will turn out to be damaging) to slip by as if nothing has happened. The Robbie Farah one is a classic example, which injured him and could have turned out to be a very serious injury if not lethal.
JP
Guest
Did anyone see Klemmers punch on Corey Parker in the dying minutes of the game? Made Brent Tate's punch in the tackle all of these years back seem soft. Corey got up a bit slowly and of course Channel 9 Sydney did not play a replay.Big of Corey to let it stay on the field.
JP
Guest
My concern is that referees are deciding not to penalise blatant obstructions instead of allowing players to play footy. e.g. Hodgkinson looking to stand in Slaters running line and then Slater being penalised on a push and the try disallowed. Woods constant blatant flopping late on tackles and Woods blatant blocking of Slater attempting to attack the NSW in-goal in the second half. All the ref did was tell Smith that he would award a drop out. That was a penalty and a certain two points right there.
Madrid john
Roar Rookie
Don't expect Inglis to bomb another try like he did with the bad pass to chambers. Don't talk up you edge defence too much.
up in the north
Roar Rookie
It's true that Queensland should have scored a lot more points, given the amount of extra ball they seemed to have. I guess that's a good sign for the NSW defense going forward.
Zero Ga
Guest
I thought it was a try, there was no 'push'. However, it was onlyy a massive NSW defensive effort that stopped QLD scoring a couple more. Only one team looked like winning once QLD got ahead. Of course, one slip up by QLD could also have handed it to NSW but it didn't happen and didn't really look like it would happen.
Chui
Guest
Oh thank God. I was afraid I'd get through the morning without someone coming up with a claim of blue bias. Well done
eagleJack
Roar Guru
That has been a no try since league began. But it must be good to get a win and still believe in conspiracies. The refs had a good game. QLD simply won on experience. Kept it simple in the end and it got them over he line.
Adsa
Roar Rookie
Always a good day in Qld when the boys beat the Blues David. Qld were robbed of Slaters try, there was no push in the back, Hodgkin and Slater both made contact going for the ball and then the Blue half spent time trying to sheild Slater from the ball rather than trying to ground it, lucky that the officials support blue.