State of Origin: NSW star Jarome Luai reveals the moment that will haunt him after Blues loss

NSW five-eighth Jarome Luai has revealed the moment that will haunt him long after the dust settles in the wake of the Blues’ disappointing series decider loss in front of a sellout home crowd at Accor Stadium.

Jarome Luai has revealed the moment that will haunt him long after the dust settles in the wake of the Blues’ loss in the State of Origin decider in front of a sellout home crowd.

NSW were just starting to build some momentum when, in the sixth minute, the ball landed in the hands of five-eighth Luai on the last tackle.

Luai opted to go for a last play kick that No.6 wished he could take back.

The chip over the top, from just inside of Queensland’s red zone, not only missed the mark but was easily taken in-goal by Maroons winger Valentine Holmes conceding a seven-tackle set.

Wests Tigers star Luai told this masthead the kick-play error put the Blues on the back foot for the rest of the first half with Queensland going on to take a 20-0 at the break.

Jarome Luai's kick goes to deep and gives Queensland a seven-tackle set

“If I had my time again, there are a few key moments that I’d want back,” Luai said.

“It’s so much easier to see now (in hindsight). I’ll watch back the video on it and just take this as a lesson. It’s all part of the journey.

“But yeah, the first kick … I thought we had a bit of momentum there, we had made a line break. It led to seven tackles (for Queensland).”

It wasn’t the only moment Luai would have liked to have again.

A wayward pass on a left edge raid in the 16th minute went to ground, again in prime attacking territory. Hooker Reece Robson gave away a penalty for holding back Maroons halfback Tom Dearden in the following set, which led to Queensland’s opening try to Xavier Coates.

Jarome Luai has revealed the moment that will haunt him from the Origin decider. Picture: Getty Images

“I’m disappointed. We lost a few moments, in the end they (Queensland) deserved to win,” Luai said

“Man, down 20-nil … it made it a pretty fair task to try and come back from in the second half.

“It was always going to be hard to win from that point, we missed the start again and that’s what let us down in the end.

“It’s a tough pill to swallow, but we get up and we go again.”

Luai redeemed himself with some threatening touches and plays in the second half, forcing a drop out in the 61st minute as the Blues were trying to claw back a 20-6 deficit.

The playmaker’s boot also earned the Blues a consolation try to powerhouse winger Brian To’o through a deft grubber kick on the death of the full-time siren, giving NSW a flattering 24-12 scoreline.

Luai redeemed himself with some threatening touches and plays in the second half, but it was too little too late. Picture: Getty Images

“That scoreboard pressure, when you fall behind, it’s forced upon you,” Luai said.

“Maybe we were a bit too passive in the first half, you could argue that.

“When you are down 20-nil you need things to go your way. We probably created a few opportunities but Queensland scrambled really well and saved a lot of tries.”

While the Maroons scrambled well in defence, the Blues’ one-out, clunky attack also offered little at times.

Nothing encapsulated that more on Wednesday night with only three minutes left on the clock.

Luai put up a bomb on the last tackle, which was regathered by To’o only for utility Connor Watson to pass the ball directly into the arms of Queensland forward Jeremiah Nanai.

Luai took the field on Wednesday night after spending three nights in hospital with a staph infection before heading into NSW camp last Monday.

But the playmaker insisted he would be ready to line-up against the Warriors in Sunday’s clash in Auckland.

Originally published as State of Origin: NSW star Jarome Luai reveals the moment that will haunt him after Blues loss