There was nothing wrong with the biff. The knee wasn't a low act, just a bit of niggle, and two guys squaring off is fine. Price got K.O'd by a punch from White, Waterhouse collected him on the way down which is the problem. The try should have been awarded IMO. How many origin tries has Hayne been robbed of?
If that happened in the 20th minute, Archer wouldn't have had the balls to send Waterhouse off.
Then, in true cat QLD style, they put up the bomb and go after someone small like Gidley. Hodges mouths off, then runs behind someone else. Can Hodges or Inglis even punch? "watch your back" :lol: oh please.
The kick in the face should have been a send off offence, but again it happened in the early stages of the game and the ref has no balls.
Once again, Thurston proves he is a real hard hitter in the sledging department.... (what a role model) :roll:
Punches fly as Blues restore lost pride
TRENT WATERHOUSE was sent off, Ben Creagh and Sam Thaiday sin-binned and Maroons halfback Johnathan Thurston faces suspension after last night's series finale erupted into old-fashioned Origin violence as NSW prevented Queensland from a 3-0 clean sweep to save Craig Bellamy the ignominy of having the worst coaching record in Origin history.
Maroons fans littered the ground with bottles as Waterhouse was dismissed in the 79th minute. He was the third man in a confrontation between Steve Price and Brett White that resulted in the Queenslander being taken from the field. Creagh and Thaiday were sin-binned after another fight when the game finally resumed.
As replays of the incident in which Price was felled were shown on the big screen, Maroons centre Justin Hodges had to be physically restrained from attacking a Blues opponent, repeatedly saying "watch your back".
The game ended with a brawl, and referee Shayne Hayne had to stop Michael Crocker from chasing Michael Ennis around the field.
Earlier, Thurston was placed on report six minutes before half-time after leaving David Williams with a bruised and bleeding face when he stuck out his left foot to try and prevent the NSW winger from scoring after Maroons fullback Billy Slater had lost the ball in-goal.
Video referees Paul Simpkins and Tim Mander also awarded the first eight-point try in Origin history to the Blues, but there was controversy over the decision as such a ruling can only be made if an act of foul play occurs before a player scores. Williams had already grounded the ball when Thurston booted him in the face.
Blues players had no doubt that the extra penalty was warranted after approaching referee Tony Archer to complain about the incident, prompting Thurston to tell one: "Shut up you spastic."
After Gidley had earlier questioned a benefit of the doubt ruling for Queensland's first try by Dallas Johnson in the 12th minute, Thurston had told Archer as he lined up his conversion attempt: "What's he whingeing about." The bitter verbal exchanges underlined the depth of feeling between the two teams as the Maroons tried to become the first team since NSW in 2000 to complete a 3-0 whitewash, and the Blues sought to restore some pride after a record four consecutive series defeats.
Heading into last night's match with just one win as NSW coach since taking over from Graham Murray last season, Bellamy needed a victory to avoid the unwanted distinction of having the worst record of any Origin mentor in the 28 years since the concept began.
The Blues' 28-16 win means that technically rests with former Queensland coach Mark Murray, who had just one win in two series but he can at least claim to have steered the Maroons to a series victory in 1999 after they drew the final match.
If Bellamy was to survive in the job next season he would be the first coach from either state to be reappointed after losing consecutive series.
The Blues must also now decide whether to stick with veteran halves pairing Brett Kimmorley and Trent Barrett next year after announcing at the start of this series that they were looking to the future when they named a team for Origin I with seven debutants.
In contrast, Kimmorley and Barrett were the oldest scrumbase combination in Origin history but their experience gave the Blues a more settled appearance.
After his high shot on Greg Inglis in Origin II, Barrett was singled out for some extra attention by the Queensland players in the opening exchanges of last night's match, with Johnson hitting him late after he had passed the ball on one occasion and Thurston working the 32-year-old five-eighth over on the ground in another tackle.
Tempers flared over on a number of occasions before the game exploded in the 79th minute with the wild brawl that led to Price being taken from the field on a medicab.
Kimmorley was also outstanding, which raised the question of how he could have been considered too old for the opening two matches.
By helping to spoil the Maroons celebrations, the Blues might have also prolonged the representative career of Queensland captain Darren Lockyer, who had indicated he would retire from Origin if he was able to lead his state to its first clean sweep since 1995.
Aside from Lockyer, the match was likely to be the last Origin for Maroons utility Karmichael Hunt, who is expected to switch codes and play rugby union in either Japan or Europe.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/origin/punches-fly-as-blues-win/2009/07/15/1247337168647.html
