Footy great Andrew Johns reveals his conspiracy theory behind Nathan Cleary's shock Origin struggles
Footy wise, Andrew Johns has always been a deep thinker - and the NRL Immortal offered a wild conspiracy theory when it came to Nathan Cleary 's kicking struggles in the Origin series opener at Suncorp Stadium.
Despite NSW 's comfortable 18-6 win on Wednesday night, the Blues halfback had a poor night with the boot, missing three conversions and a second half field goal he would normally slot over the black dot with ease.
Speaking post game in the sheds, Johns asked Cleary if the Steeden balls were different - or had he just 'f'ed up'.
'The last one I kicked was definitely just an f up,' Cleary said.
'I think I'll reflect on that and I think there was a bit going on in my brain, I had so many things I wanted to do.
'I've thought about being back in this arena so often and so many things I wanted to do and sometimes I need to calm down a bit and go through the processes.'
The poor kicking wasn't just limited to Cleary.
Fellow Blues sharp-shooter Zac Lomax left footy fans shocked after spraying a simple attempt wide following the match sealing four-pointer from fullback Dylan Edwards.
Speaking post game in the sheds, Johns asked Cleary if the Steeden balls were different - or had the halfback just 'f'ed up' after missing three try conversions
Cleary admitted 'there was a bit going on in my brain' as he looked to dominate the Origin arena for NSW
Meanwhile, triumphant NSW coach Laurie Daley praised the resilience of Payne Haas and Stephen Crichton, who were both immense after entering game one under an injury cloud.
Strike centre Crichton completed a fitness test in the team hotel hours before kick-off - and then declared to medical staff he was right to play.
'He (Crichton) was in doubt,' Daley said. 'It was a pretty bad cork, but our physios did an amazing job all week with Payne and Critta.
'Payne's (quad) injury we weren't sure with that either, but they were patient with him.
'Critta was fantastic. He said he was 'mad'. So that's obviously good.'
Maroons coach Billy Slater was disappointed with his side's performance - but is adamant they can still turn the series around.
'I've spoken about the discipline side of the game,' he said. 'That's a choice, so there's a shift in that to start with....and I'll look at my preparation as well, so I'm not out of this.
'There's so much more in this footy team. It's a best of three series, you've only got to win two games and that's still alive so we'll be going after it.'
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