State of Origin Game I: Nathan Cleary blood binned in messy NSW first half

Everyone from Dave Hughes to punters at the pub were yelling at the TV as NSW stars painted Townsville red, until finally somebody stepped in.

TOWNSVILLE, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 09: Nathan Cleary of the Blues is attended to by a team trainer after a cut to his face during game one of the 2021 State of Origin series between the New South Wales Blues and the Queensland Maroons at Queensland Country Bank Stadium on June 09, 2021 in Townsville, Australia. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)

Fans were left stunned as Game I of 2021's Origin series devolved into a bloodbath with the visiting side painting the Townsville turf red. 

Star half Nathan Cleary copped an unfortunate piece of friendly fire off Tom Trbojevic after the latter went over for the first try of the match. Viewers around the country couldn't believe the scene as the No. 7 was allowed to play on with blood pouring from a cut under his eye.

It took until the 36th minute before referee Gerard Sutton ordered the Penrith halfback to leave the field and clean himself up. 

The NRL Physio Twitter profile speculated over a potential fractured cheekbone, which would see him off the field for weeks.

"If fracture confirmed usually best case return to play of 3 weeks for adequate bone healing. General range 3-6 weeks. Hopefully just a laceration," the tweet read.

Nathan Cleary was in the wars early in the first half.

TOWNSVILLE, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 09: Brian To'o of the Blues scores a try during game one of the 2021 State of Origin series between the New South Wales Blues and the Queensland Maroons at Queensland Country Bank Stadium on June 09, 2021 in Townsville, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Fortunately for the Blues, the blood in Cleary's eyes wasn't enough to obscure his eagle eye as he expertly slotted two conversions and a penalty goal. He emerged from the blood bin shortly after with the gruesome cut cleaned up.

Everyone from Dave Hughes to punters at the pub were left wondering why the 23-year-old star was kept on the field so long while clearly bleeding profusely. Panthers youngster Brian To'o -- who scored two brilliant tries on the left edge to put NSW in the box seat -- was also in the wars with a bloody injury above his eye.

Reports from the ground of a possible fractured cheekbone for Nathan Cleary, surprised he stayed on as long as he did if so. If fracture confirmed usually best case return to play of 3 weeks for adequate bone healing. General range 3-6 weeks. Hopefully just a laceration #Origin

— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) June 9, 2021

NSW cut man needs to sort Cleary out or he’s gonna need a blood transfusion at half time.#Origin

— Dave Hughes (@DHughesy) June 9, 2021

Has anyone considered trying to stop Nathan Cleary dying of blood loss? #origin

— Matt Bevan 🎙 (@MatthewBevan) June 9, 2021

So the NRL blood bin rule only kicks in after two litres of claret? #Origin#Cleary

— Adam Spencer (@adambspencer) June 9, 2021

Despite the early trip to the blood bank, NSW was able to sitch themselves up and pull off a historic 50-6 win over the hosts.

The Blues were ahead 20-0 after 28 minutes with Manly star Tom Trbojevic the chief destroyer. Trbojevic was everywhere in the first half scoring the first try of the game on the right edge. It was only a late try before the break to Kurt Capewell that kept Queensland in the game, with the Blues taking a 20-6 lead heading into the second half.

Capewell’s try was also Trbojevic’s only blemish after he let Capewell slip through his fingers near the try line.

The Maroons had earlier had Christian Welch forced out of the game after he failed a HIA concussion assessment.

It was a cardinal sin from Maroons debutant Kyle Feldt that allowed NSW to score the first try of the game when Tom Trbojevic darted on the outside of Capewell and sliced his way over the line.

It came after Feldt had taken out Josh Addo-Carr in a clumsy block that brought the speedster to the ground as he chased down a kick.

The Blues delivered the knockout punch with 20 minutes still to play when Jarome Luai cut a hole in the Maroons’ defence before the ball ended up in Tom Trbojevic’s hands.

He dived over for his second try, which put NSW ahead 32-6 in the 60th minute.

The Manly superstar made it three tries next to his name nine minutes later, sliding over under the posts for his first Origin hat-trick. Queensland were dead and buried, faltering in their defence as NSW notched up eight tries to their one by the final 10 minutes. 

Cleary slotted his seventh conversion of the night (not including a penalty goal early in the first half) to bring up the visitors' half-century, with the score 50-6 in the closing stanza.

Rugby league great Peter Sterling lamented Queensland's monumental loss, their first under new coach Paul Green. 

I have no doubt we will see a different game at Suncorp in game number two," he said from the commentary box. "But there's a lot of ground to make up. Very keen to hear Paul Green's reaction coming out of this game. An inauspicious start for him but things will get better but they've got to get better very quickly."