Paul Gallen still Queensland’s public enemy No.1

FOR an agonising minute there, it looked as if Queensland’s biggest State of Origin villain was not, for once, going to be Paul Gallen.

Paul Gallen retains his tag as his state’s most villainous player. Picture: Gregg Porteous

FOR an agonising minute there, it looked as if Queensland’s biggest State of Origin villain was not, for once, going to be Paul Gallen.

Senior review official Bernard Sutton studied replay after nerve-racking replay of Blues centre Josh Morris’s drive towards the Queensland tryline which would have put NSW ahead 8-6.

Central referee Gerard Sutton sent the matter to the NRL bunker as a try on the say-so of a touch judge.

Paul Gallen retains his tag as his state’s most villainous player. Picture: Brett Costello

The most lovely sentence Queensland league lovers will hear this year will be when Bernard Sutton finally concluded: “The tackle is concluded and the ball is short of the line.’’

On Channel 9, commentator Phil Gould conceded after the game that Sutton had made the correct decision, after having been equally insistent during the review process that Morris should be awarded a try.

Queensland’s man in the commentary box Paul Vautin said at the time Maroons defender Aidan Guerra’s knee prevented the ball from being planted on the line. Even more pertinently, Vautin asked later why on earth the NRL has insisted for too long that the match referee makes a guess if he has to before throwing the cut-out ball to the bunker.

The right decision, on video evidence was reached, which is what has been paying the way of the bunker system all season despite complaints over delays and especially the number of times there have been referrals.

It left Gallen back in the familiar position of being Queensland’s least-liked New South Welshman, a role he will relinquish at the end of his farewell Origin series.

Gallen had promised on match eve that “there will be a lot of niggle in every single tackle’’.

“The intimidation is gone - you can’t punch anyone any more. All you can do is get stuck into each tackle,” Gallen said.

Yep, players can’t punch opponents anymore and not be sin-binned anymore because the last straw had been Gallen’s punches to the head of Nate Myles in 2013 when the Maroons prop’s hands had been by his side.

The match flared only twice with push and shoves, the first being when NSW’s winger Blake Ferguson grappled with Johnathan Thurston.

Gallen ran for 125m, the most by a NSW forward and second only to Queenslander Corey Parker (145m) among the packs, and made 26 tackles.

His suppporters will say it vindicated his retention as a player and captain, in spite of the pre-selection call publicly from Gould that the Blues turn instead to Penrith’s Trent Merrin for their drive and leadership.