Laurie Daley hinted at his displeasure over the lopsided penalty count against NSW after the Maroons caused a huge upset in Perth’s State of Origin II.
With the potential to take an unassailable series lead at Optus Stadium, the star-studded Blues fell to a massive half-time deficit and were unable to chase it down in a thrilling 26-24 loss.
In the opening 40 minutes, Daley’s men had been penalised eight times to Queensland’s nil and that snowballed further immediately after the break, tallying nine-straight infringements before the Blues mounted a comeback.
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In that same period, Queensland were not penalised once by Ashley Klein, before the count finished 10-2 against the Blues by full time.
However, when asked for his thoughts on the officiating, Daley shut it down immediately.
Laurie Daley and Isaah Yeo speak to media post-game Nine
“I can’t tell you what I honestly think, so I’m not gonna say anything,” the coach said.
Some of the penalties were for foul play – most notably against Jarome Luai and Zac Lomax – while others were more subjective and Klein blew his whistle.
Blues captain Isaah Yeo was perhaps a little more critical, but lamented their inability to defend mistakes and hold onto the ball as the bigger issue.
“There were certainly a few we were shooting ourselves in the foot with, but other ones were 50/50 … some nights you get them, some nights you don’t,” he said.
“You’d obviously like that to be a bit more even, but we were our own worst enemy at times. What you can’t do is go and drop the ball the next set when you’ve got the ball.”
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NSW trailed 26-6 at the break after the Maroons ran in four first-half tries, but things swung the opposite direction in the second stanza.
In the end, it was goalkicking that proved the difference for the Blues, who scored five tries to Queensland’s four, but the aforementioned Lomax missed three conversions.
Last year’s Origin winners will now have the advantage of playing on their home turf of Accor Stadium in the decider on June 9.
Zac Lomax reacts after NSW’s loss. Getty
When quizzed on potential changes or if he had confidence in the same players being able to bounce back and get the job done, Daley gave a definitive reply.
“Well, I was confident at half time,” he said.
“I know what this group is capable of and that’s the thing you get disappointed with, because they never gave themselves that opportunity.
“I know what our best football is and I know when we play our best football, what we’re capable of doing. I’ve got to take responsibility, because the first half wasn’t great.
“I’ve got to look at what I’ve done, because something’s not right.
“It’s 1-1 and that’s what Origin is all about – it creates theatre and creates headlines.
“I’m sure everyone wants a decider and they’ve got it.”
