You'll never be able to convince me the Queensland Maroons didn't commit a single penalty during the first half of Origin 2 on Wednesday evening.
But that was the view of referee Ashley Klein, who sent the teams to the dressing sheds in Perth with the Maroons leading the ledger a staggering 8-0.
That quickly became 9-0 after the break, before only three more penalties were blown in the final 35 minutes of the game, seeing the Maroons take the penalty count 10-2, and the game 26-24.
This, from a team who committed the six of the first eight penalties of Origin 1, according to referee Klein, who blew the pea out of the whistle as the Blues dominated the contest.
Before we go any further, I have to stress I'm not here to imply the penalties the Blues gave away weren't correct decisions. Most of them were. Sure, there were a couple of 50-50s you could argue weren't penalties, but that's not the point.
The point is the same 50-50s weren't being blown in the other direction, and that, whichever way you spin it, has now been the case for three years in a row.
I'm no conspiracy theorist, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out the financial implications of a live decider for the NRL and its broadcasters against a dead rubber.
It also doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that the team winning the penalty count wins NRL games - and Origin games - more often than they don't.
And that proved to be the case on Wednesday evening.
The fact the Blues would have won if they could goal kick straight was a remarkable feat in itself, and would have been the largest comeback in Origin history.
But a 9-0 penalty count simply puts too much fatigue into the legs, takes too much energy out of the lungs, and gives the opposition too much of a leg up to be in the hunt.
It's a penalty count the likes of which have never been seen before.
Add that to ruck infringements, which were conveniently called in back-to-back fashion before Queensland's first try - one where they stripped the Blues for numbers with Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow scoring - and it simply presents an impossible challenge for any defensive line, no matter whether NRL or Origin level.
Laurie Daley was asked for comment post-game and said he simply couldn't say anything, while captain Isaah Yeo admitted he wanted to see things a bit more even after he was spotted chatting to Ashley Klein at halftime.
The fans weren't so easy to suppress - social media was an absolute storm during Wednesday evening. A one-way tirade against Ashley Klein.
If it was a one-off with no track historical record, then you could maybe shrug your shoulders and get on with it, but the issue is this is now a running theme.
Last year, the Maroons won Game 1 in an absolute canter after now rugby union player Joseph Suaalii was sent off for hitting Queensland fullback Reece Walsh into next week.
The 38-10 win meant the Blues had to find a way to win in Melbourne, and they did on the back of a scintillating first half, where they went to the halftime break up 34 points to 0.
In truth, the Origin series was over in that 40-minute period.
Queensland lost the first half penalty count 4-2, and while they came back to win it 9-7, the damage was done. Square-up penalties are never quite as effective as ones which police a team out of the game in the early going.
In the modern game, which is as fast as it has ever been, penalties mixed with ruck infringements are a deadly combination, and of the Blues six first half tries in last year's Game 2, half of them came directly on the back of one or the other, while the others seemed to be a mix of fatigue and a forward pack getting bullied without the football.
Again, did Queensland deserve to have those penalties blown against them in Game 2 last year?
You bet, absolutely.
But did the Blues get policed the same way when they were defending?
No, absolutely not.
The last time Origin had a sweep was 2023, with the Maroons taking Game 1 and 2. That year, they were simply too good, running away with Game 2 32 points to 6 after winning the opener 26-18.
But the Blues, despite being on the back foot, still managed to win the penalty count 4-0 in the first half, and 8-2 in the second half.
It's a game that goes against the tale of the tape in terms of teams winning penalty counts and taking home the chocolates as a result, but it still paints part of the picture.
2021, 2020, 2019, 2018 and 2017 have also seen the team losing Game 1 win the Game 2 penalty count.
That's seven of the last ten Origins where the team losing Game 1 have won the Game 2 penalty count, and in nine of the last ten, the team losing Game 1 have won the Game 2 penalty count in the first half.
They are remarkable figures, when you hold them against the bright lights of scrutiny.
Maybe it's pure coincidence, but the bottom line is, fans aren't stupid.
It feels like the game is being taken for a ride to ensure as many deciders as possible, and normally, if something is quacking like a duck, and moves like a duck, it probably is a duck.
For the showpiece of the game that ruins the NRL's regular season for six weeks, it's simply not good enough.
