Well, that was certainly a game of football!
This State of Origin series needed last night's game, to say the very least. What a game it was too.
Let's not waste any time, because I feel a comment onslaught coming.
Below are 20 thoughts from an all time brilliant State of Origin, Game Two:
1. So much is made about the 8-0 penalty count at half time, but let's break down the penalties. Stefano Utoikamanu was caught standing in the line. 100% penalty. Zac Lomax elbowed a bloke in the head while in possession. 100% penalty. Payne Haas took an early nap on a QlDer. Again, penalty. Luai attacked the face. Penalty. Crichton with a high shot. Penalty! Not for a second do I believe QLD were perfect, but NSW were absolutely responsible for their half-time deficit, not the officials.
2. Laurie Daley has to drop his ego and ring either Terrell May or Keaon Koloamatangi to start in Game Three. Stefano Utoikamanu was awful last night and should never have been there. Daley has nailed the majority of his selections but whatever this personal beef with Terrell May is needs to be put aside for the good of his side, People here will rush to say Koloamatangi was injured, but only in a game he wouldn't have played if he were in the Origin side as he should have been. He played Hudson Young as a pure middle. Why didn't he pick a middle in Koloamatangi if that was the plan?
3. Cameron Munster delivered, yet again, on the biggest stage. Running out as captain, he was arguably the best on ground. Undoubtedly QLD's best on ground. People will focus on NSW blowing opportunities, but Munster was absolutely magic, as captain, in a do-or-die Origin clash.
4. We all really should have known better. NSW entered as un-backable favourites. QLD were written off. Of course, the Maroons won. If only we had about 800 pre-warnings of the same thing happening in the past.
5. Mitch Moses "aura" continued to grow despite missing last night's game through injury. Moses won the series last year besides Jarome Luai. He won Game One beside Nathan Cleary. The Blues are two and two in the last four games. Two wins with Moses, two losses without Moses.
6. Liam Martin is certainly a big game specialist and it's all well and good to laugh in a bloke's face after you've hammered him. That said, when you get folded and lose the ball thanks to a shot from a centre, which then leads to a try and momentum turning ... said laughter doesn't look so good does it?
7. There will be calls for mass changes from south of the Tweed for Game Three. There should only be one. Terrell May or Keaon Koloamatangi in to start with Max King returning to the bench.
8. Speaking of King, why did he only get one stint on the night? He started pretty darn well, considering. He did give away a penalty but was solid with the ball and good in defence. I kept looking for him to come back on but he never did. There was no injury reported. Bad coaching!
9. The pre-game was the most bland, boring, and drab build-up in the history of this concept.ย With 24 hours to go it blew up based on one bloke calling another bloke a "grub" a week earlier. It seemed to spark interest so it worked but my word I hope Origin Three brings about a bit more pre-game excitement.
10. A big part of whatever pre-game talk there was centred around Daly Cherry-Evans being dropped for Tom Dearden. Billy Slater absolutely nailed it with the new number seven playing a huge part in the early QLD onslaught. Well in!
11. Almost all the talk this morning is about Zac Lomax inability to convert. I get it, two points the difference, five tries to four, it's 100% spot on. It wasn't as though he was missing kicks from right in front, though. Conditions were tough. No excuses I guess but I'm way more annoyed with the stupid penalty he gave away via that brain snap, than I am about missing sideline conversions.
12. It always happens when they lose but Blues fans forget that they are supporting NSW and quickly rush to social media to protect and defend players from their clubs. Panthers, Tigers and Dogs fans last night fought until the early hours to "stick up" for their guys. Sometimes players just don't play well.
13. I was shocked that Luai face grab didn't garner more attention. I'm not calling for him to be suspended but I was sure that was going to be a far bigger than deal this morning than it has been.
14. A lighthearted entry here but people take "player ratings" way too seriously. Is there really that big of a difference between a 6 and a 6.5?
15. Tell ya what though, my honest belief is that if Nicho Hynes has turned in the Nathan Cleary performance last night, he would have been strung up in public and made enemy number one. Just stew on that for a minute.
16. Last night I tweeted out that Brian To'o is the best winger I have ever seen. Ok, he gets jumped over sometimes, as wingers do, but he has completely reinvented the position. He was massive last night and I actually had him as man of the match.
17. It's pretty funny that people forget Aaron Woods has played 14 times for the Blues and 17 times for Australia. I know toward the end he has some comical moments in defence but Woods, at one time, was pretty good at this football thing.
18. Harry Grant had his best starting Origin of his career last night. He was so good early.
19. Heading into the game, Grant was zero wins from six starts, or something of the like. He was undefeated coming off the bench. QLD entered the game as 0-2 at Perth and with a horrible neutral venue record in game twos. So of course the Maroons won. Again, we should have known better!
20. As a Blues fan, I say this out of the side of my mouth, but a decider is absolutely the best outcome for all involved .... or something!
