The home state deals with moments and Wednesday night, it was Queensland who owned them.
Three plays in particular, defensive fighting efforts and a piece of magic by Cameron Munster, were defining moments that Billy Slater pointed out at his post-match press conference.
Brad Fittler pointed to some late missed opportunities in his and, more broadly, the slowdown in the ruck as the difference between the two sides.
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The moments that won game 1 of Maroons | 02:18
Patron James Tedesco echoed those concerns and told reporters that Queensland “did not allow” New South Wales to “free up space around the ruck” and play with the “freedom” they wanted.
Naturally, frustration followed, and in those moments that could have been crucial in turning the grenades around, the Blues, on the other hand, rushed the plays and gave up unforced errors.
There were two moments, between the 63rd and 65th minutes, that summed up how this added frustration directly caused a bad decision-making under pressure.
After 63 minutes, a couple of quick and successful challenges followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area by Cameron Munster might have resulted in another goal for Queensland.
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The blues fell short. (Photo by Cameron Spencer / Getty Images) Source: Getty Images
Cook sometimes threatened with a few straight throws at the fictional half, but on the other hand was guilty of trying too hard, throwing himself left and then right as if he had too many options in his head.
This is what left Rabbitohs’ rake worn and finally turned the ball around in the first position of the attacking field.
“[An] horrible step over here, straight to Munster. Fox League Warren Smith said in a comment.
“New South Wales [is] shelling. A wild Cook pass.
Cooper Cronk said it was a simple case of Cook “exaggerating his hand” and “putting himself under pressure” as a result.
Felise Kaufusi then had a third chance at scoring, but a last ditch challenge made sure that he didnt.
This time, it was Cameron Murray who unloaded with Daly Cherry-Evans on the lookout and the Queensland migback rocked as the Blues made another costly bill.
“Once again, forcing the problem, turning it around in New South Wales,” Smith said.
“That’s because Queensland is forcing the problem, Queensland is frustrating New South Wales,” added Braith Anasta.
“They’re in a panic, thinking they have to score on every play.”
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There were also a number of controversial calls that New South Wales fans and players might point out when analyzing where things went wrong on Wednesday.
Although even when the Blues had rehearsals canceled by officers, there were cases where it was just another proof that New South Wales was their worst enemy.
Make the decision to cancel Junior Paulo’s rehearsal in the final stages of the first half.
It was decided that Murray had stopped on the defensive line, denying Patrick Carrigan a fair chance to stop the Blues team.
All the Rabbitohs had to do was block the line, but they didn’t, another example of the Blues’ lack of execution when they needed it most.
“When you go on the line this way, Cameron Murray had to go ahead and let Carrigan take care of Paulo,” Smith said in a comment.
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Tedesco also had a try at the end of the first half after Daniel Tupou was sentenced for throwing the ball forward on the blue side.
Although Tedesco was visibly frustrated when Ashley Klein requested the play, Anasta saw no reason for the Blues to feel harmed by that particular call.
“Is it ahead? Yes, it is, “he said.
“A great call from the referee.”
There was a bit more discussion around the decision to award Daly Cherry-Evans’ try in the second half, with replays that seemed to show that Junior Paulo could have been slowed down in the melee.
“Paulo is a little restricted, but I’m not sure it’s enough to fail the test,” Anasta said.
“Normally the front rower covers this space and he plays this game every week Paulo, he knows he has to free himself. Collins has his arm on his shoulder. You have to look at it. “
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Although the origin is often decided at times, credit must be given to the Queensland game plan as a whole, which was not just a product of slowing down the ruck.
The Maroons ’fast defensive line, and in particular their work with Blues midfielder Nathan Cleary, also suffocated New South Wales with unusually poor set finals.
There were a number of “moments” in which Cleary made a wrong play in the last inning, either by kicking too deep or not occupying the space offered when the Maroons retreated.
Speaking SEN 1170 ‘The Captain’s Run’, Queensland assistant coach Cameron Smith revealed that there was a lot of talk in the cutlery in the middle about how to aim for Cleary.
Nathan Cleary was attacked. (Photo by Mark Kolbe / Getty Images) Source: Getty Images
“He’s a great kicker under pressure because he works hard in that part of his game,” Smith said.
“There was a good kick pressure in the first half (from Queensland). In the second half, Queensland came to him when he was kicking the ball.
“Which meant Queensland’s three backs, especially Kalyn Ponga, were able to put the ball in a very good field position. Queensland could go straight from defense to attack. We had to (go to work at Cleary ).