Well, what the hell do we make of that Origin I game, which has smashed some kind of ratings record with a TV audience of 3.995 million, plus some 1.521 million people streaming the game:

I would note that it was the No.1 program in 5 out of the 6 major Australian cities… the exception was Adelaide, which was topped by 7 News.

As for the game, Queensland had that game on toast at 20-0 inside a quarter of play as the Laurie Daley Blues once again looked pathetic and error riddled in one of the more lopsided halves ever seen in an Origin game, mirroring Game III of last year, until Cameron Murray and the expat Englishman Victor Radley came off the bench after the half and provided a bit of life for New South Wales, but even still the score was 20-6 with 23 minutes left, which especially in Origin play is as safe as the Bank Of England…

And then in a talking point for years to come, Kalyn Ponga made that pathetic effort of a tackle that resulted in him becoming the seventh player sent off in an Origin game, and the fourth Maroons player to make that list, alongside Reece Walsh in Game II of 2023 (The double headbutt with Jarome Luai), Gorden Tallis calling Bill Harrigan a “****ing cheat” in Game I of 2000, and Craig Greenhill for a swinging arm on Paul Harrogan in Game II of 1996.

The Queenslanders came blame Klein all they want, it was a shit attempt at a tackle that had no arm wrapping (Which is the ultimate nail in the coffin), a tucked in shoulder and resulted in contact to the head with the shoulder (In addition to the head clash) that ultimately KO’d Tolutau Koula out of the game on debut – When you’ve got a referee like Klein who has clearly shown he’s not afraid to make a huge decision, especially in State of Origin, at some point you’re going to get absolutely burned and Ponga got burned.

Another random fact – There’s been more people sent off in an Origin game in the last 4 seasons (4) than there was in the previous 43 (3)… Ponga, Sualii in Game I 2024, and Walsh + Luai in 2023… of course, the common theme is they were all sent off by Ashley Klein.

Still, the funniest part of it was that Ponga got away with a Grade 2 dangerous contact charge and was fined $6900, which means the match review (and the Bunker) didn’t agree with Ashley Klein’s assessment of it being a sending off, given a Grade 2 charge is usually what gets given for a sin bin shoulder charge.

Of course, that also means Ponga dodged a suspension despite Koula failing his HIA and most likely missing the next 2 Manly games given they play on Friday then Thursday.

On the other hand, that sending off undid a shitload of good work the Maroons backline had performed in the opening hour, and the player advantage allowed the Blues to complete what is statistically the biggest comeback in State of Origin history, from 0-20 down to winning 22-20 heading to Melbourne, thanks mainly to Nathan Cleary’s kicking game setting up things once Crichton and To’o stopped dropping the ball in their own half, Ethan Strange did good things on debut, and with the rain hammering down, James Tedesco came through on a Cleary hail mary, outjumped The Hammer in an aerial dual and scored one of the greatest game winning tries you’d ever see to complete the comeback, redeeming himself after a horrific bombed try earlier in the game.

For the second time in his life, Teddy did a Mark Coyne on Queensland… a truly truly bitter pill to swallow for Queensland, but they’ve come back from worse.

Anyway, that’s enough of the wall of text, this is supposed to be a SUCCINCT display of NRL tipping, and on that note it’s time for Round 13 in clubland

Round 12 Tips = 4/5

Round 12 Progress Score = 61/93 (65.5%)

Had to actually look at where I am on the FootyTips ladder after 12 rounds… currently 32,328 out of 520,270, or more accurately the top 6.2% of tipsters.

Anyway, one final thought for today – Former Souths and New Zealand captain Isaac Luke turns 38 today, so here’s him launching a Tombstone Piledriver on James Maloney: