In one of the most fiery State of Origin matches in memory, controversy reigned as Jarome Luai – to the dismay of many – returned to the field. The Penrith Panthers’ halfback was put on report after an incident involving Queensland’s Reuben Cotter, during which he allegedly grabbed Cotter’s face. In response to that question, Luai appeared to imply that the confrontation had resulted in visible scratches on his face. That change didn’t escape the notice of officials and fans alike.
Kalyn Ponga, the Queensland captain, witnessed an alleged eye gouge by Luai, further intensifying the scrutiny on the New South Wales player. Centre Zac Lomax was put to the sword during the game. He got dinged with a penalty for a clear, out-of-nowhere elbow to Trent Loiero’s head. Loiero displayed Category 2 symptoms and was subject to a head injury assessment. Despite this he mightily pushed through to come back for the second-half.
As tensions flared on the field, Queensland quickly established a 20-6 lead with a penalty goal. Warriors young gun Tom Dearden was at the forefront of Queensland’s attack, which proved beneficial as the game developed. At the same time, New South Wales’ Nathan Cleary seemed affected by an obvious leg issue that inhibited his kicking game and execution. He even had a compressed right leg and shanked a kick late in first half. Consequently, he eventually lost confidence in his goalkicking and renounced his goalkicking duties.
Even Rugby League Immortal Andrew Johns was critical of Cleary’s showing. He commented, “Nathan Cleary on his right leg there’s a bit of compression. He hasn’t kicked far – that’s a concern. This absence of long kicks from Cleary made you wonder what was next for New South Wales with the back-three being positive.
The quickly rising stress levels were evident across the pitch, with refs forced to step in time and time again to handle arguments between players. One official remarked, “Every time I’ve blown the whistle there’s been this push and shove.”
