State of Origin game 2: Blatant referee blunders cost NSW Blues v Qld Maroons
NSW was always going to need an even share of the 50/50 calls to have any hope but copped a number of highly-questionable decisions, writes PHIL ROTHFIELD.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
NSW was always going to need an even share of the 50/50 calls to have any hope of knocking off the Maroons to save the State of Origin series.
Instead the tight decisions all went Queensland’s way, including two highly questionable incidents that led the Maroons’ first two tries.
In the eighth minute Val Holmes opened the scoring for Queensland, at best with finger-tip downward pressure on the football.
Referee Ash Klein ruled no try and video replays showed there was enormous doubt around him grounding the football.
Normally the bunker official, when it’s so close, would go with the referee.
But Grant Atkins in the bunker awarded a fair try.
Valentine Holmes scores the FIRST try of Origin II! 🔥#9WWOS#NRL#Originpic.twitter.com/NXWdopGFsA
— NRL on Nine (@NRLonNine) June 21, 2023
Valentine Holmes did not have control of that ball lmao. Bunker gonna Bunker. #Origin
— Jordan Patu (@Jordan_Patu) June 21, 2023
There is no way that is a try from Valentine Holmes.... #Origin
— Adam Santarossa (@adamsantarossa) June 21, 2023
In the 32nd minute Cowboys winger Murray Taulagi scored off two blatant forward passes.
The passes from David Fifita to Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and then the Hammer to Taulagi were so obviously forward.
To everyone but the touch judge, who was only 10 metres away, the referee and the horribly biased Cameron Smith in the Channel Nine commentary box, who called it line-ball.
When two sides are so evenly matched these calls are so critical.
The NRL has spoken for years about technology that will take the guesswork out of forward passes.
It’s available and used overseas.
We should be using it in the NRL and especially on Origin night.
The refereeing aside, you can’t deny the Maroons were the better team and deserved to win.
But it would have been much closer but for those questionable early calls.
Where to now for the Blues.
It was a disaster to lose Tom Trbojevic so early, highlighting an imbalance on the NSW bench with the two-hooker option.
Damien Cook is not a centre. If he wasn’t good enough to start at hooker he should not have been in the 17-man squad.
We could have had Matt Burton in the 17. Or even Clint Gutherson, who has been in sensational form for the Parramatta Eels.
It's a pity the linesman wasn't in a good position to judge a forward pass. Oh wait ... #StateofOriginpic.twitter.com/HqE04zhfJp
— ðŸ€ðŸ’§ðŸ”¥ Glenn Gibson (@sszinglehead) June 21, 2023
Against ALL the momentum - the Maroons go in for their second! 🔴
— NRL on Nine (@NRLonNine) June 21, 2023
ðŸ–¥ï¸ #Origin II | Exclusive on Channel 9 and 9Now: https://t.co/Bll2LnrWOR#9WWOS#NRLpic.twitter.com/g8lMIsc3Pn
This is why there is now so much pressure on Freddy Fittler and Greg Alexander.
We have now lost three of the last four series.
Surely their time is up.
They’ve been found out in team selections, preparation and tactics.
One minute Nicho Hynes is in the side and then he’s kicked out after 10 minutes in Adelaide.
Reagan Campbell-Gillard is again overlooked for a Wests Tigers rookie, despite his magnificent performances for the Kangaroos at the World Cup.
It’s time for the NSWRL under new chairman Paul Conlon to conduct a full review of our State of Origin structures and programs.
We could accept losing when Mal Meninga had Billy Slater, Johnathan Thurston, Darren Lockyer, Greg Inglis and Cameron Smith.
Not any more. NSW has twice as many NRL participants as Queensland.
Yet we keep falling over at the elite level.
We are beaten and broken ... and desperately in need of a major revamp.
HIGHLIGHT
The Daly Cherry-Evans cover tackle on runaway Blues centre Stephen Crichton was a gamechanger. If they’re picking an Australian side tomorrow, DCE would deserve to get back his Kangaroos jersey he lost to Nathan Cleary at last year’s World Cup.
LOWLIGHT
Poor old Tom Trbojevic suffering a pec injury after just three minutes of the game – the latest injury in a horrible run for the Manly Sea Eagles superstar.
SPOTTED
Matildas superstars Sam Kerr and Caitlin Foord took a break from their FIFA Women’s World Cup preparations to watch the game from a corporate suite at Suncorp.
SPOTTED
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk cheering for Cameron Munster and the Maroons from the NRL suite at Suncorp Stadium.
SPOTTED
Original NSW Blues second-rower Graeme Wynn hosting St George Illawarra sponsors and commercial partners in the Dragons’ suite.
SHOOSH
Talk about a waste of government money … the NSWRL was given a $35 million grant to build a state-of-the-art centre of excellence at Sydney Olympic Park back in 2018, yet the Blues’ Origin side rarely even trains there. Brad Fittler prefers to use Coogee Oval.
SHOOSH
Origin night in Brisbane is always a huge money-spinner for ex-Blues and Maroons players. They normally charge $5000-a-gig and many of them make multiple appearances in different corporate suites throughout the evening.
WRONG CASE
Not everyone thought State of Origin would work back in 1980. TV presenter Ron Casey had a column in the old Daily Mirror and wrote before the game that it was a “phoney promotion” and “just another match without much meaning.”
FLASHBACK
The man who scored the first ever State of Origin try in 1980 at the old Lang Park almost played AFL instead of rugby league. Wagga Wagga’s Greg Brentnall actually played a reserves match for South Melbourne in the 70s and was offered a contract in the old VFL.
He chose rugby league with the Canterbury Bulldogs instead because he wanted an opportunity to play for his country, something Aussie Rules couldn’t offer.
MOSES PLUNGE
Parramatta Eels halfback Mitchell Moses started the game as best backed player to win man-of-the-match on the TAB, with 21% of the money invested. Cameron Munster (17%) and James Tedesco (17%) were the next most popular for the award won by Maroons prop Lindsay Collins.
360 VIEW
Catch you on NRL 360 at 6.30pm on Fox League with Braith Anasta, Gorden Tallis, James Hooper and Greg Alexander for a review of State of Origin.
More Coverage
Originally published as State of Origin game 2: Blatant referee blunders cost NSW Blues v Qld Maroons
Stars snubbed in wild Kangaroos bombshell
Mal Meninga has dropped bombs on three of the biggest stars in the game as the Kangaroos coach announced his squad.
NRL fans crash Brockmann run, told off
After fans finished up at Accor Stadium, some ventured next door to pay Nedd Brockmann a visit, with one fan being told to quiet down.