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MAROON LUCK GOES SOUTH IN MELBOURNE

LADY Luck may have avoided them, but Queensland still have hope on their side after NSW sent this year’s Origin series to a stunning Suncorp Stadium decider with their 26-18 victory over the Maroons in Game Two at the MCG.

In front of an Origin record crowd of 91,513 in Melbourne, NSW got themselves back into the race to retain their series crown on the back of a dominant performance from their forward pack.

While there were plenty of highlights in the match, a more open affair than Queensland’s gritty one-point win in Sydney in Game One, the main talking point after the game was the dubious no-try ruling against Greg Inglis.

With the Blues on the attack late in the game looking to land the killer blow, utility Michael Morgan stripped the ball free from the grasp of NSW halfback Mitchell Pearce.

The ball dribbled across the MCG turf and into the arms of Inglis, who looked in vintage touch to outstrip the Blues’ defence on an 80m sprint to the tryline – seemingly with his second try for the night, the match result and the series win in his keeping.

The on-field officials awarded a try, but referred the decision to the video officials, who – to the disbelief of Queenslanders – found enough evidence to overrule the original verdict and declare no try.

After being given a stay of execution, the Blues rallied to score again, putting the game beyond Queensland’s reach and sending the game to a decider in Brisbane on July 8.

Queensland coach Mal Meninga and captain Cameron Smith both admitted they thought the Inglis try was legitimate, even though the video referees decided there had been an obvious knock-on from Morgan.

“There was a lot of doubt about whether it was knocked on,” Meninga said. We didn’t get the rub of the green… a lot of things went against us. The opposition capitalised on it.

“I guess it was a curious decision from the point of view that the on-field referees agreed it was a try.

“My understanding is that the video referee needs to have no doubt that an incorrect decision has been made to overrule the on-field judgment. I have watched the incident a couple of times since, and I would have to say that there is still doubt about whether Morgan knocked the ball on.

“But what is done is done. We didn’t have a lot of luck go for us, the bounce of the ball didn’t go our way.

“But once again, we should have put ourselves in a position where we weren’t relying on luck going our way to get us through.“We started the game by giving away a penalty in the first set of six and allowed NSW to set up camp in our end. You can’t afford to do that, because it takes a toll on you towards the back end of the game.

“We didn’t touch the ball for the first five minutes. It wasn’t an ideal start from us.”

The result and the controversies aside, there are plenty of reasons why Meninga is buoyant ahead of the Suncorp Stadium homecoming.First among them must be the return to form of Inglis, who was at his rampaging best with the ball in hand, roaming across the park like a hungry lion looking for action.

There is also the news that injured halfback Cooper Cronk is on track to return for Game Three after missing the MCG match with a knee injury.

“It is not all doom and gloom for us. The series is still alive, and we have a home game in front of our loyal Queensland fans to finish this year’s series,” Meninga said.

“We will have to get better, but we also know that we can.”

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