The State of Origin almost always finds a way of delivering a memorable time even though Wednesday night's match in Melbourne was drab by the best Origin football standards, save for a couple of tasty controversies.
Some loved the game, but there were many average performances, which may be why a couple of handy but hardly sensational runs by new Blues prop James "Turncoat" Tamou had a commentator or two in raptures. Hardly anyone had what you would call a brilliant game. The more rugby league promotes the Origin the more it has to live up to, and not every match will scale the increasing heights of expectation.
But when you have a belligerent losing captain like Paul Gallen, a pugnacious losing coach such as Ricky Stuart, an arrogant refereeing boss named Bill Harrigan, a forensic approach to officiating the game and a lot of steam to let off, headlines will flow like the blood once did.
A close scoreline kept the game interesting, but the stars didn't twinkle and the support cast had little to cling to. The best player may have been the one-man casualty ward Brent Tate, the Queensland back who plays every match as if it will be his last, which a number almost have been. The snarling Greg Bird with a character made for these battles was also very good for New South Wales. Jarryd Hayne danced and twirled brilliantly. Conversely, the oft-troubled NSW playmaker Todd Carney, making his debut, was average at best. None of the key stars shone at all or for very long but Johnathan Thurston did enough, and the giant Greg Inglis was influential.
The referees lacked authority, which is not entirely their fault because the video review controls many important decisions, and there is an even bigger Guy in the Sky named Harrigan who comments on anything and everything his referees do. They didn't need a twin refereeing system in Harrigan's days because he had an ego big enough for two.
