Should Kalyn Ponga have been sent straight from the field for hitting Tolu Koula in the head with a shoulder charge? And did it cost Queensland victory?
Those will be the big talking points in the days to come, with TV commentators – and even the majority of NSW fans – convinced Ponga was hard done by.
Approaching the hour mark of Origin I, with Queensland leading 20-6, fullback Ponga came charging over as the last line of defence to try and stop Koula, who had been put into space by Ethan Strange.
Sam Walker made the tackle on Koula, then Ponga finished him off, connecting directly to the NSW winger’s head. Koula lay on the deck as referee Ashley Klein immediately asked bunker official Chris Butler if the tackle was worthy of a send-off.
“It’s a shoulder charge direct to the head – I think that’s a send-off,” Klein told Butler.
After a few anxious minutes, Klein was overheard telling Butler, “I know what you’re saying”, before maintaining there had been no attempt by Ponga to make a tackle.
Ponga, who appeared to suggest the contact had been an accidental clash of heads, was given his marching orders as commentators, including Blues legend Andrew Johns, expressed their disbelief.
At best, Johns and Queensland icon Cameron Smith, who were seated next to each other in the Nine commentary box, thought a ten-minute stint in the bin would have been sufficient.
“It is what it is,” Queensland coach Billy Slater said afterwards. “[Ponga] feels he’s let his team down, but those things happen in games. They happen really quick.
“I’ve been in his position, I know how hard it is: spur of the moment, it’s wet out there, things happen. I thought it was a courageous effort from our players. I’m heartbroken for them – the effort they put in. They played with so much heart.”
NSW thought they had scored in the very set after Ponga’s send-off, when Ethan Strange crashed over on the right, only for Haumole Olakau’atu to be pulled up for an obstruction on Harry Grant.
But Strange had a four-pointer not long after as an almighty NSW comeback against 12 Queenslanders took shape.
The fact Koula was later ruled out of the game with concussion will go a long way to justifying Klein’s bold call. The match review committee will also come down hard on Ponga, which is bad news for Newcastle and potentially the Maroons for game two in Melbourne.
When Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii shot out of the line and almost decapitated Reece Walsh at the same venue in game one in 2024, there were few complaints when he was given his marching orders.
The Ponga dismissal, however, will be hotly debated in the coming days. He becomes the seventh player sent off in Origin.
Until that moment, Klein had allowed the game to flow, blowing just three penalties and three set re-starts in the opening half. It was like being back in 2022, and it was beautiful to watch. A key six-again call late in the game allowed the Blues to go on the attack and score via Nathan Cleary to move within four points of the Maroons.
Any contentious calls were quickly sorted out by Butler sitting in the bunker, including the decision to penalise Cam Murray for climbing over the back of Kurt Capewell when trying to score a try late in the first half.
Queensland did well to win a captain’s challenge in the second half when Max Plath claimed he was collected high when trying to catch the ball. NSW then butchered their challenge when Murray thought he was hit high by Cam Munster.
Klein will be remembered for one decision. He did well. In the fair dinkum department, he should get the gig at the MCG for game two next month.
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