Fans fume as forward pass controversy erupts during State of Origin

NSW fans have been left seeing red on Wednesday night after Queensland’s opening try came in questionable circumstances.

Queensland entered enemy territory on Wednesday night but quickly flipped the script on their State of Origin rivals.

In a blistering first half display, the Maroons decimated the NSW as they poured in 20 unanswered points.

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The foot was never taken off the pedal by Billy Slater’s men in the Origin decider as they ran in three tries to leave the Blues shell-shocked.

But fans watching on believe the scoreboard shouldn’t be as lopsided with referee Ashlee Klein missing a forward pass.

Two NSW penalties gave the Maroons ideal field position and they quickly made it count with Gehamat Shibasaki finding Xavier Coates who crossed in the corner for the opening try of the contest.

“They’re over in the corner Queensland, they’re humming,” Andrew Johns added.

Xavier Coates could not be stopped from crossing in the corner. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

As replays began to roll however fans were convinced the pass from Shibasaki to Coates had gone forward and the score should’ve been disallowed.

One wrote on X: “Terrible defence by the Blues but that forward pass missed by the touchie is even worse.”

A second added: “Pass thrown before the line then caught after the line hmm. I see the calls are still an absolute joke.”

A third wrote: “Just another blatant forward pass leading to a try. Almost penalty worthy it was so blatant.”

A fourth posted: “So … forward passes are not a thing I see.”

Fans fume over missed forward pass that saw Coates score the opening try.

Despite the potential oversight from those in charge, the Maroons were in complete control of the contest with Tom Dearden and Harry Grant adding more misery for the Blues.

Dearden pounced on some slack efforts from the home side to scoot over untouched in the 26th minute.

Grant then worked his way through multiple defenders as he crossed next to the posts in the 38th minute.

The Blues almost came back from 26-0 down in the first half in Game 2, they’ll need to produce a similar effort if they’re hoping to lift the Origin shield in the decider.

Originally published as Fans fume as forward pass controversy erupts during State of Origin