NSW fans should be ecstatic after the Blues took a huge step towards winning their second straight Origin series with a dominant victory over Queensland on Wednesday night – but instead, many were left bitterly disappointed by the quality of the match.
They weren’t alone. Footy legends including Andrew Johns also slammed the teams’ performances at Suncorp Stadium, with ‘Joey’ saying it wasn’t close to Origin standard and was more like a club game.
While the Blues were a class above the Maroons, the contest was marred by very poor play from Queensland and a shocking number of stoppages in play.
Fans and legends love Origin because its intensity and habit of producing long periods of uninterrupted play set it apart as the highest standard of footy apart from the NRL grand final – but game one fell far short of that mark.
The teams committed a staggering 23 errors between them, with the second half of the contest reduced to a constant stop-start affair as a result.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, 15 penalties were blown by referee Ashley Klein.
Queensland players Harry Grant (left) and Pat Carrigan were left shattered by the team’s dismal performance in Origin game one
The look on Maroons coach Billy Slater’s face says it all after the loss at Suncorp Stadium
Comments like this one from a very disappointed fan were common on social media in the wake of the game, which was ruined by errors and penalties from both sides
It’s not like he was needlessly blowing the pea out of the whistle, either – both sides, but especially Queensland, were guilty of very lax discipline that helped rob the fans of what should have been a great spectacle.
Players who were picked for their spectacular attacking prowess – like Maroons stars Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Kalyn Ponga – went missing, and NSW were able to play very conservatively on their way to the win.
After fulltime, Johns and Queensland icon Cameron Smith were anything but impressed with what they’d just seen.
‘It wasn’t a genuine Origin game,’ Johns said.
‘It didn’t feel like one,’ Smith agreed.
‘It didn’t feel that way, for whatever reason,’ Johns continued.
‘It just didn’t feel like the intensity and the physical side of an Origin game. For me it was like a good club game.’
Fans were in complete agreement, with some going a lot further in their criticism.
Pictured: Another unhappy fan’s reaction to what footy greats Cameron Smith and Andrew Johns agreed was nowhere near Origin standard
‘Yeah I wouldn’t be promoting this game. Absolutely horrible advertisement for the NRL,’ one wrote on X.
‘It was boring when Queensland were winning every year. Now it’s worse. They need to reinvent this series somehow. It’s losing its shine. Wouldn’t know it’s on in Brisbane if you didn’t watch channel 9 this week. Nothing like it used to be,’ another commented.
‘This will go down as the worst Origin in a decade. So many errors,’ added a third.
‘If I paid for a ticket to watch Queensland, I’d be asking for my money back. Absolute disgrace, no vision whatsoever. Munster, Cherry, Ponga was a waste [of] space tonight,’ an angry Maroons fan commented.
‘Top 5 worst origin games ever this one,’ another fan said.
‘That was the most tickerless showing from a Maroons team I’ve seen. Just standing around waiting for someone else to make a miracle happen,’ added another.
The fallout from the match looks set to result in some big changes for Queensland – especially if the team follows Andrew Johns’ advice and axes veteran skipper Daly Cherry-Evans.
Maroons stars like Cameron Munster (pictured) were slammed online after they went missing during the side’s second straight loss to the Blues at home
Footy icon Andrew Johns said Wednesday night’s game was more like a club match
Maroons coach Billy Slater was blunt in his assessment of the performance.
‘Probably some decisions … about the discipline side of the game (have to be better),’ Slater said.
‘And I’ll look at my preparation as well. I’m not out of this. It’s not just the players, it’s everyone, and we’ll all look at ourselves.
‘I know there’s so much more in this footy team.
‘It’s a best of three. You’ve only got to win two games, and that’s still alive.’
The issue for Queensland is that while NSW had obvious answers last year when they were 1-0 down, questions loom for the Maroons.
NSW went down to 12 men early in last year’s series opener, and still dominated territory in that match while lacking polish.
Queensland, in contrast, have now been thoroughly outplayed in the past three Origin matches dating back to game two last year at the MCG.
The Blues also had Mitch Moses return from injury to play in the final two Origins of last year, while Queensland do not have any players to come back in key positions.
So far ahead were NSW on Wednesday night, former Blues coach Phil Gould remarked in that they had ‘shattered’ Queensland. and left them with no answers.
