Cowboys prop James Tamou stamps his spot in NSW State of Origin pack

JAMES Tamou has no spot in the front-rowers' club, but Matt Scott believes his Cowboys teammate has a permanent position in the Blues pack.

JAMES Tamou has no spot in the front-rowers' club, but Test prop Matt Scott believes his North Queensland teammate has a permanent position at his mercy in the NSW forward pack.

Scott rated Tamou's State of Origin debut for NSW as the biggest impact of any forward for the Blues last week and said the athletic 23-year-old had taken the first steps towards cementing his place in that team for many years to come.

The Blues and North Queensland both breathed a sigh of relief yesterday when Tamou was cleared by the match review panel of a dangerous contact tackle on Wests Tigers' Benji Marshall on Sunday that had the rising Cowboys star fearing he'd be suspended for Origin II.

Tamou looms as a certain Blues selection when Ricky Stuart names his Origin II team on Monday allowing the 194cm and 113kg front-rower to display more of his athleticism which featured a 60m chase of noted speedster Marshall at Campbelltown Stadium on Sunday.

"He has never had a spot in the front-rowers' club," Scott joked yesterday.

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"He is a specimen all right. He is a great athlete. He has definitely taken his fitness and his training up to another level this year.

"He was probably one of their (NSW's) best. He probably had the most impact for them out of their forwards.

"No doubt he will be there for a long time."

The fact Tamou escaped even a grade-one charge yesterday had conspiracy theorists buzzing that another NSW forward had received a free pass for an on-field indiscretion. But NRL match review chairman Greg McCallum said Tamou's tackle was perfectly legal.

"The main thing was Tamou did not leave the ground at all," McCallum said.

"He was committed to the tackle at the same time or just before Marshall kicked the ball. He certainly was not late.

"There was no way Marshall was exposed in the hit."

Cowboys skipper Johnathan Thurston said the tackle warranted a penalty, but laughed when asked whether it was another conspiracy that a New South Welshman was let off.

"It always happens around this time of the year doesn't it? I think it goes both ways," Thurston said.

"I think the penalty was sufficient. He went in for the tackle and Benji was mid-air. We copped the penalty for that and I think that was sufficient."

What Queensland players are not too amused about is the level of debate and criticism aimed at officials since their remarkable Origin I win.

But the Maroons can see through the agenda being pushed in Sydney, with Scott believing it is a drive to garner parochial hometown support for Origin II on June 13 at ANZ Stadium.