Queensland star Kalyn Ponga has become the seventh player in State of Origin history to be sent off in a flashpoint moment that flipped the game on its head and paved the way for New South Wales to record a famous comeback victory.
The Maroons were in control with a 6-20 lead lead in the 57th minute of Wednesday night’s series opener when a brawl broke out after Ponga flattened Tolu Koula with a shoulder charge.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Kalyn Ponga sent off after shoulder charge on Tolu Koula
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Koula was stopped in his tracks less than 20 metres from the tryline after making a line-break down the left side and lay flat on his back following the hit as Blues players descended on Ponga to remonstrate.
When the players were broken up, referee Ashley Klein gave Ponga his marching orders.
That’s despite replays showing the contact was mostly head on head. Ponga’s shoulder only really made contact with Koula’s shoulder.
Andrew Johns and Cameron Smith agreed Ponga deserved to be sin-binned, but were aghast at the decision to send him off altogether.
“Really? Really? No way that’s a send-off!” Smith said.
“The Ponga decision — everyone knows I bleed blue, but that was outrageous,” NSW legend Johns said on Nine.
The decision gave the Blues the one-man advantage they needed to kick-start a pulsating comeback.
After Ponga’s send-off, the Blues scored three tries, including the match-winner from James Tedesco with just over a minute left on the clock, to complete the greatest comeback in State of Origin history.
Tedesco, in his comeback game after being dropped for last year’s series, made what Phil Gould called a “miraculous catch” — which he almost fumbled — and willed himself over the line to level the scores at 20-20.
With the clock ticking down close to zero, you could cut the tension in the stadium with a knife as Nathan Cleary had a conversion from point-blank range to win the game.
The superstar halfback made no mistake, but not before a prolonged routine which included two approaches to the ball, only adding to the drama.
The Blues, who 0-20 to start the game, blew the previous best comeback of 12 points away in a rain-soaked thriller.
And it was 21-year-old debutant Ethan Strange who inspired the win, having only been included in the squad this week after an injury to first-choice five-eighth Mitchell Moses.
Maroons No.7 Sam Walker had a hand in everything the Maroons did right in the first half, laying on the opening try for Rob Toia and the second for Tom Flegler.
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow dived on a Cameron Munster grubberkick and Walker converted all three tries and nudged a penalty goal to put the Maroons in the box seat.
Cleary set up Hudson Young for the only NSW try of the first half but the Blues were given a window of opportunity when Ponga was sent off.
Strange was devastating against a depleted Maroons side, scoring a try, having another chalked off and making several busts upfield.
Cleary then stepped up with a 40/20 and a 71st minute try to cut Queensland’s lead to four points.
Then Tedesco came up with the match-winning play, jumping over Selwyn Cobbo to claim a bomb and then touch down.
Speaking after the game, Queensland legend Darren Lockyer couldn’t get over the Ponga moment.
“I’m still in shock with the Kalyn Ponga decision. That’s the turning point; we lose the game off the back of that,” he said.
“Credit to New South Wales, but there’ll be a lot of people north of the border that struggle to accept that decision.”
Koula was taken off for a head injury assessment after the hit, which he failed, meaning he was ruled out for the remainder of the game.
In Ponga’s absence, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow was moved to fullback, while Kurt Capewell switched to centre.
The most recent Origin send-off was Joseph Suaalii in the series-opener of 2024. Four of history’s seven send-offs have happened since 2023.
Queensland are now facing an uphill battle to win back the series ahead of game two in Melbourne on June 17 and in game three in Brisbane on July 8.
The team that has won game one has gone on to claim the series 70 per cent of the time.
Having said that, the Maroons lost the series-opener last year and went on to win the series.
With AAP
