Sorry, not buying this.

So what made it awful? Few line breaks? No superman tries at the corner? No 60-metre GI classics? No Thurston super passes? No flick passes? The fact defences were on top?

Rubbish. That was a brutal example of one team determined to batter the other into submission, but meeting their match, with two sets of absolutely fantastic defences and personalities going hell for leather.

An 8 year record at stake, players battling through injury across the park, some astounding individual performances (Gallen!), hard running again and again against lethal lines of defence, some amazing goal line tackles, never more than a 4 point margin, NSW behind for 70 minutes, Queensland utterly desperate not to be the team that lost SoO - and yes, rough, tough, niggly and sometimes downright dirty moments, and a bit of handbags to boot. Fantastic. Give me more of that. I don't need a plethora of flashy attacking play to make a game, I can appreciate the war that went on out there today and the great skill, fitness and mental toughness required for 80 minutes of defence like that. But then I'm not 12.

As one of the commentators said to a couple of the ex-players co-commentating, "this is bit like back in your day". Couldn't agree more. Apart from one dull spell, it was gripping stuff, a close scoreline that could be reversed at any moment. Fair enough, not the fastest or most sensational of games, but edge of the seat nevertheless. And I doubt any SL team could have survived out there.

Before I get called an NRL fanboy, there are plenty of dull NRL and SoO games, and SL games for that matter.

If you prefer nothing but sterilised, perfectly behaved players, clean textbook tackles and a procession of tries to enjoy your RL, fair enough. Good luck in your GCSEs.

The game certainly lacked the famous "French flair."

Yes and if you want put that in to the context it was meant you would end up saying because of all the dirty niggly play. When Ray Warren and especially Gus Gould say this a poor game live on national television you know it was poor! At one point Gould even said after hayne ran horizontal across the pitched "hey a game of rugby league might break out here" or Johns and lockyer looking for excuses and saying that bird and Gallen are trying so hard they are taking to much ball away from the half backs.

Just because you like niggle (so do i) most people don't and that was far to much for me yesterday it was basically two forward packs running and the backs scooting. Maybe you need to re watch and don't watch the pre match hype. The only thing that would have sorted that out yesterday would have been a punch up and then all the niggle would have stopped. Origin quality has been on a steady decline, the 1st game of the series was the best game for a couple of years.

There was a spell right before NSW scored that was like watching RU. NSW had 3 consecutive sets within 10m of the QL line, and nearly every play was a forward trying to crash over from dummy half. They finally threw it out, Hodkinson dropped the shoulder, went through a gap and scored. Origin is a great spectacle but some of the games turn in to one-out battles of physicality with very little to showcase the world class attacking players.

83,421 fans regularly attending rubbish games, they do it all the time in othrr sports namely soccer and Rugby Union. You never hear their fams in meltdown over it.
High profile, top class, sporting event get used to it.
Flashback to last years Challenge Cup final!!!

Awfull dull grind if a game. Neither side wanted to play just grinding each other down. Gals Nsw got the win but not a patch on the first game.

Enjoyed every minute of it, maybe not a classic but cracking guts and all defence.

Gould summed up the first half "the game is getting in the way of them getting at each other". The worlds best attacking players were on display yet you could have been watching siddall v west hull in the old days the amount of grubby play and up the middle ball under the arm play. Opened up a bit in second half but mistakes galore then started. Game one was brilliant, game two rubbish.

Not that it matters, record crowd, record TV audience. Classic example of hype over substance, like rugby union really.

I was more sprawled on the couch than edge of the seat TBH. Too much niggle for my liking although the JT reach-around slap at the PTB that caused Cam Smith to get one was funny! The forearm in the face near the end of the game when he was put on report not so much. Not a classic by any stretch of the imagination. Interesting to see what "Fatty" and the crew make of it on the Footy Show.

The refs let the PTB get so slow that neither side could comfortably get any ball movement. Having said that, NSW's attack is really limited in ability due to inferior halfbacks (Reynolds was dire), whereas Queensland simply underperformed.

As a game it was poor quality, but just like RU internationals the closeness of the game and scale of the event are what made it special. Sadly, Australia will never play as conservatively in attack against England.

I'd add that if England started to indulge in that sort of messing about at every PTB against Australia, you can bet your bottom dollar they'd be penalised off the park. Different rules for origin indeed.