‘Can’t keep doing it!’: Hot mic exposes captain’s furious Origin cheating accusation

The Origin decider descended into absolute carnage and the Maroons’ pent-up frustration that had built up all series finally came out.

Cherry-Evans was dropping truth bombs.

They’ve been doing it all day, ref. Or in this case, all series.

He could smile in the end after a thrilling victory but Queensland captain Daly Cherry-Evans was absolutely filthy early in the second half of Wednesday night’s State of Origin decider as carnage erupted in one of wildest interstate matches ever seen.

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Three players were rubbed out of the game for good courtesy of three brutal knockouts in the opening minutes and then both sides found themselves down another man each in the second stanza after an all-in brawl erupted.

NSW centre Matt Burton and Queensland star Dane Gagai were both sent to the sin bin after engaging in some fisticuffs that sparked plenty of debate over who was in the wrong both during and after the match.

Burton was running back into the defensive line after Kalyn Ponga broke into the backfield, then pushed the Maroons fullback towards the ground after he had already passed in an attempt to keep him out of the play.

Gagai saw that and ran over to Burton, as both players started throwing wild haymakers.

Referee Ashley Klein sent the pair for a 10-minute spell but Cherry-Evans blew up, saying Burton’s shove was another blatant, illegal attempt by the Blues to take out Queensland players off the ball.

They brought back the biff. Source Fox League

Matt Burton never stood a chance. Source Fox League

NSW was awarded a penalty for Gagai’s original infringement, costing Cherry-Evans a try after he kicked through for himself.

The halfback accused NSW of pursuing dodgy tactics and breaking the rules all series and he’d clearly had enough, as his complaints were picked up by the referee’s microphone.

“All game and all series, they have taken us out off the ball. All series! All series!” Cherry-Evans fumed after Gagai had been given his marching orders.

“What did you expect to happen?”

Klein tried to settle the skipper down, saying “I’m not going to argue” before instructing Cherry-Evans to talk to his team because what happened was “not acceptable” and “we’re not going to cop it for the rest of the game”.

“I will, I will, but they can’t keep doing that s**t! They can’t keep doing it!”

Cherry-Evans was blowing up.

Both teams copped the same punishment. Pic: NRL Imagery

Cherry-Evans wasn’t the only captain complaining. NSW skipper James Tedesco asked Klein why Tino Fa’asuamaleaui wasn’t also sin binned, after he came rushing in to put Burton in a headlock and create a “two-on-one” situation where Burton had no chance of defending himself.

“I don’t know if he actually threw a punch, but I thought if he did he should have been sin-binned as well,” Tedesco said post-game.

“That’s why he said Gagai was sin-binned because he threw punches, so I don’t know if Tino did that as well, but yeah.”

Blues coach Brad Fittler was also critical of how the situation was handled.

“At the end of the day he didn’t initiate it, Burto,” Fittler said during his post-match press conference. “He’s not going to fight anyone.

“At the end of the day he’s got belted. He got penalised. We got the penalty. Then he got belted and put in a headlock and we walk out with one player down each.

“It’s a tad ridiculous. But it is what it is.”