Four players sin-binned in State of Origin II as Queensland return to dominant best

ORIGIN II erupted as both teams ignored new legislation against fighting and tore into each other with an all-in brawl that saw four players binned.

THE pressure of the Queensland cauldron got the Blues last night.

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Forget about Suncorp Stadium, last night was a throwback to old Lang Park. To days of bone and blood and outright aggression.

And so it came, the game erupting in the 54th minute when both teams ignored recently introduced rules against fighting and tore into each other with an all-in brawl that won't rate with the classics, but warmed the cockles of some all the same.

Origin, it showed, goes beyond reason.

For reasons known only to himself, Brent Tate took offence to Paul Gallen's tardiness at getting off Johnathan Thurston in a tackle and shoved Gallen away.

As Gallen appealed, Trent Merrin decided to do away with judge and jury and took his own justice, landing several right hands on Tate.

Justin Hodges rushed in and swung at Merrin from behind and it was on.

"I saw Tatey get hit and just had to come running in, like everyone," Hodges told Channel 9.

A dozen incidents erupted off the back of that, ending with two players from each side - Merrin and Greg Bird for the Blues, Tate and Hodges for Queensland - sin-binned.

Inevitably it has left the game open to ridicule.

Some argued 11 against 11 is a soccer match, not rugby league, while others grew depressed that this is where the game has got to.

Trent Merrin

The greatest insult was that the referees got it wrong: both Bird and Tate claimed not to have thrown a punch, for one.

It can also be argued that the game was reduced to 11 on 11 only after the players ignored the new directive and threw punches anyway - and that the sin-bins will continue only as long as the punches do.

The only certainty is that as hard as the NRL tried to muffle the Gallen fight in Origin I, which completely overshadowed NSW's remarkable win, an equal uproar will now overshadow Queensland's equally remarkable win.

Regardless, it was the lightning rod on a hostile night that appeared to rattle some of the Blues rookies.

Queensland scored two tries down the right edge when debutant Nathan Merritt was twice wooed into coming in off his wing to shut down the threat of Greg Inglis.

James Maloney gave away a penalty in the first set to march Queensland upfield and then missed Sam Thaiday to let in the first try on the next set. Such was Queensland's dominance, NSW's plans are in disarray for the decider in three weeks.

Coach Laurie Daley has 21 sleepless nights ahead of him.

Sin bin

Does James Tamou come straight back in? What about Blake Ferguson, who will face court the day before, but whose defence on the right edge was vitally missing?

"We've earned the right to go to game three," Daley said.

The Blues had none of the zip they had in game one.

Mal Meninga gambled with several selection changes in a bid to match the Blues' speed and it worked better than he could have hoped.

The difficulty for Daley is determining the true performance against Queensland's magnificent, improbable start.

The Blues got blown away early. By the time NSW got the ball, Queensland already led 6-0.

Sam Thaiday was on the end of a play Queensland have run a thousand times before, one of their "diamond" plays, and which is forever fruitful.

NSW prop Trent Merrin unleashes the fists at Brent Tate.

It was a simple block shape with Thaiday getting the ball as lead runner, and he ran over Maloney to grab the try.

Any suggestions this was an ageing Queensland side were soon laid to rest.

They were on, the Maroons.

The biggest concern was the sight of Cam Smith, back in his dinner suit, orchestrating.

A general rise in enthusiasm, combined with back-to-back sets and nervous errors from the Blues all added up.

Soon it became overwhelming. The statistics against the Blues staggering.

At one point early on, Queensland dominated possession four to one.

They made just 30 tackles to the Blues' 107.

By the time NSW composed themselves, some 30 minutes had gone and Queensland led 14-0.

The Blues had dug themselves a hole in which you could bury the Titanic.

Hard enough in club land, it's impossible to overcome in Origin.

The quote of the night belonged to Gallen when a Queensland journalist, of the smart arse variety, asked: "Paul, is one of the positives for you tonight that you didn't throw a punch?"

Gallen looked down the barrel: "Not yet, anyway."

QUEENSLAND 26 (D Boyd 2 G Inglis S Thaiday tries J Thurston 5 goals) bt NEW SOUTH WALES 6 (B Morris try J Maloney goal) at Suncorp Stadium. Referee: Shayne Hayne, Ashley Klein. Crowd: 51,690.