And this week it’s so Succinct that I cut out that longer part about Joseph Sua’ali doing something that Les Boyd couldn’t accomplish… getting sent off in an Origin game.

On that point, here’s what the 6 players to ever be sent off in a State of Origin game did to get marched by the referee:

Craig Greenhill (Game II, 1996) – Crude high shot on ‘The Chief’ Paul Harrogan, instantly dismissed by referee David Manson

Gorden Tallis (Game I, 2000) – Calling referee Bill Harrigan a “Cheat” to his face after Bill missed an obvious knock-on

Trent Waterhouse (Game III, 2009) – Blindside hit on Steve Price right as Price was KO’ed from a punch by Brett White

Reece Walsh & Jarome Luai (Game II, 2023) – Sent off for headbutting one another in a melee with 20 seconds to go

Joseph Sua’ali (Game I, 2024) – Shoulder to the head of Reece Walsh in a mis-judged tackle 7 minutes in, becoming the first player to be sent off on their Origin debut.

Whereas Les Boyd shattered Darryl Brohman’s jaw with a crude elbow in Game 1 of 1983, a hit so notorious that it earned Boyd a 12-month suspension and ended Brohman’s Australian prospects… still, he didn’t get sent off.

So on that cheerful note, here’s the Round 14 tips:

Round 13 score = 1/5

Running score after Round 13 = 62/101 (61.4%)

It should tell you how brutal last week’s tipping was that the only tip I got correct was Parramatta defeating Cronulla…

And I still finished in the Top 11% for the week.

On that note, I’m now also into the Top 11% on FootyTips, despite batting at under 5 tips per Round.

Lock of the Week

Yes, whoever I pick this week, you should pick their opposition to win by at least 20 points.

Alright, this week’s Lock…

The Dragons to somehow make it consecutive wins on Friday night when Wests get dusted off in Woolongong, set to the sounds of New Zealand’s finest Dragon…

The one that had Marc Hunter in it, as they sing a song to describe the weather in New South Wales since the dawn of time!