It only took New South Wales eight minutes of State of Origin I to sustain a wound that proved fatal but the Blues took plenty of time to die.
From the moment Joseph-Aukuso Sua’ali’i levelled Reece Walsh in the opening stages at Stadium Australia and consigned himself to one of the unfortunate corners of Origin history, the game always became Queensland’s to lose.
It wasn’t until Ben Hunt’s try in the 66th minute that New South Wales were finally killed off. The Sua’ali’i send-off wasn’t quite a bullet to the head, more of a shot to the gut – which is arguably more painful because it lasts longer, there’s a lot more blood by the end and you’ll eventually end up dead all the same.
Getting at Walsh was clearly part of the plan because it had to be – after his first touch of the game, a clearing kick, Liam Martin hit him a little late and made sure Walsh knew about it.
If you leave Walsh to his own devices he can skin any team alive. Cutting down time and space is not recommended, it is essential.
That was likely the thinking behind Sua’ali’i’s tackle, which went so horribly wrong and gave referee Ashley Klein no choice.
The send off put us all into unfamiliar territory – there had never been a dismissal in the first half of an Origin match before, let alone inside the first ten minutes. We all plunged off the edge of the map.
Initially, the Blues were quicker on the uptake. That can happen with a send off – the undermanned team, aggrieved at being reduced to 12, fire up and get by on defiance and adrenaline for a while.
Sua’ali’i’s dismissal took all the air out of Stadium Australia and James Tedesco’s try got everybody moving again but a miracle was never really in the offing.
Centre isn’t just one of the most difficult places to defend on a rugby league field, it’s also the hardest position to cover when you’re a man short because of the combination of smarts and physicality required.
Initially, the Blues didn’t make any switch at all – Nicho Hynes and Martin were trying to cover the space of three men and Queensland went right after it.
This Maroons side loves to play fast, open football and after the extra space led to two rapid Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow tries, a record-breaking score felt in the offing.
A team needs to be perfect to be competitive down to 12, let alone win but the Blues had two crucial mistakes that made a task that was already close to insurmountable totally impossible.
The first came before the game – Michael Maguire’s decision to go with four forwards on the bench raised eyebrows given the lack of flexibility it offered in case of emergency.
Nobody could have predicted the Sua’ali’i send off, but strange things happen in Origin. There are a lot of rainy days.
If Matt Burton had found his way onto the bench it still would have been tough for the Blues to claw their way back, but they might have had a better chance.
Even then, failing to make any sort of defensive adjustment for 27 minutes after the send off, even after Queensland started tearing the Blues apart compounded what was already so difficult.
Eventually, Stephen Crichton moved from left centre to right and Angus Crichton moved from right second row to left centre.
It helped stop the bleeding and likely kept the Blues from being totally embarrassed. It was a good move, it just happened after the horse had bolted.
Queensland will walk away happy with the win but not overjoyed with the performance.
They took a fair while to finish New South Wales off, which can happen when a team is attacking against 12. Sometimes the extra space can almost be overwhelming and instead of targeting a single weakness with cold precision, blood can run hot as a team tries to do everything all at once.
Queensland’s final three tries, which blew the score out entirely, all came from broken field situations as they used their up-tempo style to leave the Blues gasping for air.
A couple of composed moments, like Daly Cherry-Evans killer 40/20 and Hunt’s fine use of space for his second try, went a long way. Lindsay Collins thrived, as he always seems to in the Queensland jersey. As a team, the Maroons did enough and that’s all they ever need to do.
They have become an enormously settled team in a short time under Slater and their only question before Game II is whether to get Selwyn Cobbo into the starting side after he came on and starred at left centre – even though he can’t stay in that position after Tabuai-Fidow’s hat-trick.
It’s hard to know where the Blues go from here as they try and regroup for Melbourne. Any time an Origin team loses changes must be made, but with the send off putting us all into uncharted waters
Martin went as hard as he could, especially with his kick chase, and his thunderous shot on J’maine Hopgood rattled the stadium.
His efforts were inspiring, as were many of the defensive plays from New South Wales as they refused to give up on a cause that looked lost.
Angus and Stephen Crichton were both strong in a number of different roles.
Spencer Leniu was the pick of the debutants and Zac Lomax did well on the wing. James Tedesco was strong but it might not be enough to extend his Origin career.
Apart from a well-weighted kick for Lomax’s try, Hynes had a tough night while Jarome Luai did what he could.
For the Blues to have any chance at salvaging a series which is now firmly in Queensland’s control, Maguire has to sort through the mist and figure out what was real and what was an illusion created by the chaos of the send off.
That’s the scariest part of it for New South Wales – the pain of the dismissal might not be over yet. It only took eight minutes for this game to be gone. With a Queensland team who are so sure of themselves waiting for them in Melbourne, it also might be enough to sway the series.