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If Rex Mossop was still with us, he would be sitting in front of his television tonight at his Balgowlah home muttering to himself “bring back the biff”.
Somehow Origin 2 might just erupt into Rex’s dearest wish.
STATE OF ORIGIN LIVE SCORES – GAME 2
NSW skipper Paul Gallen has virtually assured that by accusing Queensland of cheap shots in Origin 1 that won’t be tolerated by the Blues tonight.
More:
» State of Origin Game 2 Preview
» State of Origin Game 2 Teams
» State of Origin Fixture
» State of Origin
Had the injured Gallen played in Origin 1 there would have been retaliation as sure as the sun rises in the east. Gallen didn’t play, and NSW didn’t retaliate.
That won’t be the case tonight with NSW boasting a fired up Gallen, James Tamou, Aaron Woods, Beau Scott, Robbie Farah, Ryan Hoffman, David Klemmer, Boyd Cordner, Josh Jackson and Trent Merrin.
And Queensland have plenty of fire-power as well with Cameron Smith, Nate Myles, Matt Scott, Aidan Guerra, Sam Thaiday, Corey Parker, Josh McGuire and Matt Gillett.
So what will the referees do if an all-in breaks out?
With a likely record 90,000-plus crowd and millions watching around the world, the refs won’t want to ruin a marquee promotional game for rugby league – the code’s Holy Grail – by binning or marching a number of players.
In short, the refs will be between a rock and a hard place, they will be damned if they do, and damned if they don’t take action.
Let’s face it, Origin is vastly different from club games, it’s the toughest arena on earth, and nowhere for the faint-hearted.
But any over-physical displays will be directly against ARLC-NRL policy as they have dramatically sanitised the code on a regular basis.
Having said that, why did the refs let so many cheap shots go unpunished in Origin 1?
By backing off, they have effectively opened the door to bringing back the biff tonight.
Rex would be pleased.