A FEW weeks ago I wrote about how I expected Queensland to win this current State Of Origin series, and how the Maroons' era of dominance was pretty close to being over.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
On Wednesday night, we saw why.
And, as good as they were, it wasn't the barnstorming efforts of Aaron Woods or the madman David Klemmer that summed it up for me.
Nor was it the Greg Inglis 'try' that was rightly denied, but for the wrong reason.
The moment where Queensland became 'mortal' came in the 56th minute, with the Maroons in front 14-12.
They had come back from 12-6 down, scored back-to-back tries either side of half-time and were pressing the New South Wales line.
A try would have taken them out to a six-point margin, maybe eight, but when they got a penalty pretty much right in front they opted to take a penalty goal.
Queensland sides of the past would have kept the pressure firmly on the Blues, they would have backed themselves in to score and force the Blues to chase.
But instead they opted for the certain two points which gave them a four-point lead.
There's little doubt a lead is valuable, particularly in Origin, but there is little difference between a two-point lead and a four-point lead, and it was in that moment Queensland, for mine, lost the match.
From that point on NSW dominated, culminating in a try to Woods and the late match-sealer for Josh Dugan that was about as soft as a tub of custard.
Maybe it's the eternal optimist in me, but I firmly believe Queensland will still win this series.
Something tells me they will win game three in Brisbane, and win it well.
But for that to happen they will need to find some of the killer instinct they have displayed for the better part of a decade because, sadly, it was missing badly on Wednesday night.
o o o
I mentioned earlier my thoughts on the Inglis 'try', which once again highlighted some of the real grey areas involved in the officiating of rugby league.
Did Michael Morgan strip the ball? Was it a loose carry by Mitchell Pearce? Was it even a knock on?
And the biggest question of all... why didn't Inglis fall to the ground a metre out from the try-line to allow play to continue without the video ref being able to be called upon?
Let me say again I believe it was a no try, simply because Inglis was in an offside position when he picked up the ball.
It should have been a penalty to NSW, rather than a scrum. It was the right decision but the wrong reasoning from the video refs, who had countless looks at it.
And if they can't get it right with that many chances, then good luck to the blokes in the middle who had one very quick chance to adjudicate.
They were still reeling from the Pearce no-try earlier, which again was the right decision but unfortunately a pass too late.
The pass from Michael Jennings to Brett Morris was a metre forward and should have been pulled up but wasn't.
The pass from Morris to Pearce was borderline, probably a fraction forward, but a pass that is let go as often as it is pulled up at NRL level.
Again, overall the right decision but just the wrong execution from the refs, and that inconsistency is one of the reasons so many people are turning away from rugby league.