NRL greats slam State of Origin opener as below standard: ‘It wasn't a genuine Origin game'
It appears Queensland fans aren't the only ones who suffered through the State of Origin series opener, with rugby league lovers in general disappointed at the lack of spectacle on Wednesday night.
New South Wales won 18-6 in an emphatic performance at Suncorp Stadium, outclassing a Maroons outfit which frankly was lucky to be as close as it was on the scoreboard.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: New South Wales thump Queensland in Origin opener.
But even Blues fans went to sleep unsatisfied later that night, after what experts said was a poor standard State of Origin game.
NSW legend Andrew Johns said it just wasn't up to standard.
'I've got to say, it wasn't a genuine Origin game,' Johns said.
'It didn't feel that way for whatever reason. 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.'
Queensland champion Cameron Smith agreed that 'it didn't feel like' an Origin game.
The match was close on the scoreboard until Dylan Edwards' 72nd-minute match-sealing try, which kept interest in the contest.
But the game was littered with mistakes, particularly in the first half, and Queensland stars Cameron Munster, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Kalyn Ponga failed to make an impact.
Fans saw it the same way.
'Was that the worst quality Origin ever?' one said.
'Close enough to keep the viewership switched on but that game felt like a bunch of elite players trying to work themselves into form — almost like a third of them are from bottom-four teams, huh,' another added.
'Honestly not really a great game. So many errors. QLD were their own worst enemy,' a third said.
'Top-five worst Origin games ever this one,' someone claimed.
One viewer thought it was fitting that Queensland's last chance at staging a miracle comeback in the dying minutes was denied by yet another error — a clear forward pass.
'Forward pass to ice it is fitting for possibly the worst Origin game of all time,' they said.
'Officially the worst State of Origin to watch,' someone else said.
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