Sometimes you rewatch a game in the cold light of day and come to the realisation that one side clearly outplayed the other and that the referees had minimal bearing in the contest.
I've seen games in the past where it seemed like every call went one team's way and that's how they won the contest, only for the replay to reveal a bunch of misgivings that ultimately decided the juncture.
Unfortunately on this occasion, what we witnessed was more of the former.
Generally we criticise referees for being overly self conscious and averse to criticism. Generally they try their best to keep the penalty counts even and the game is filled with a bunch of square ups which calls into the integrity of the officials.
Last night felt like a throwback to the 80s where you'd have Kevin Ryan and Barry Gommersall try and out-do one another. Barry would give Queensland a lopsided penalty count one game, so then Ryan would try and give the Blues a few more in the next game. Their performances generally dominated post-match discussion and in a lot of ways took away from the performances on the field. Since then the game has brought in a state of the art video review system, more referees on the field and a refined rule book that makes the game easier to referee. This is especially true when it comes to scrum penalties, which were usually the source of a lot of infringements.
Rugby League has grown a lot since the 80s and yet the standard of refereeing has yet to get with the times.
I really have to wonder about the performances of the Sutton brothers and Cummins. While a lot of us felt as if it was Luke Patten in charge of the Fifita try, it was Bernard Sutton's voice that relayed the call. Perhaps Archer will reveal an addendum that justifies the decision that we're all not aware of, but on paper it was a clear no-try, penalty Queensland.
Yet the decision went the Blues way. As did a number of calls that resulted in a 12-3 penalty count. While I was okay with a couple of decisions from the referees, there were a few calls and omissions that appeared to be clearly wrong and influenced simply by emotion. On a stage this big, I just question the professionalism of the game. State of Origin is the crown jewel and by artificially sweetening the contest, you hardly invite casual fans to keep watching and tune into the NRL competition. Not after they saw a performance where one side was given so many obvious leg ups from the officials.
At the time, it didn't bother me. In fact, given the way NSW held Queensland out while one player short and the try to Jennings I felt as if it was a well deserved victory. However, it was clear that the run of calls had exhausted the Maroons and when they were in a position to win the contest, they couldn't find the extra gear necessary to pile on the points. The two tries they scored were incredibly soft, and had the game continued without the spate of bad calls, it appeared as if the Blues defence was in for a long night.
Watching the replay, I wanted to be wrong. I wanted the Blues to convince me that they were the better side and would have won regardless. Instead, I saw a rudderless team that was just as likely to hand possession over than to capitilise on it. The play lacked awareness and it seemed like they actively went away from the plays that had broken the Maroons line on several occasions. There were a handful of good performances, but also plenty of poor ones and I'm unsure if the Blues have really built a foundation in this one clash.
On a positive note, the try to Jennings vindicated one point of view I had. For so long, the Blues had gone with players to stop GI. On this occasion, they brought Blake Ferguson in-field and one on one, he proved too much of a handful for the Maroons dynamo. It was a thrilling moment for NSW, one they should have experienced much sooner and for the sake of the competition play towards in the future.
I was also wrong about a player as well. I've never been a big fan of his, but Tyson Frizell has really made a name for himself in the Origin arena. He reminds me a lot of Jeremy Smith in his hey day. Not big on numbers, but everything he commits to is full hearted. He needs to be in the Blues side in 2017.
What does this game mean? Not a lot, Gal got to go out a winner and Queensland lost an extremely good lock of their own. Somehow, I believe the Maroons suffered the biggest loss in that department but with the likes of Smith, Cronk and Thurston nearing the end of their fabulous careers, there is still plenty of motivation moving forward.
