No joy could come to the team supported by a vandal willing to paint a town's icon two shades of blue in preparation for a match. This is certainly true for the first half where NSW failed to gain any points whatsoever in response to the QLD score of 14.
It started with some heavy pressure from the QLD defence right off the first kick. Costly NSW errors saw costly QLD points scored. Any team who screws up that badly in the first minute of a game deserves an uphill battle in the second half. Two tries and one penalty aside, there is no spark in this game.
If The Corporation are going to sell this to the Southern Folks, then something interesting has to happen. That's not to say "bringing back the biff" is going to solve anything. All that does is create fads and sell retarded shirts to retarded people. More skill is required; 30 - 6 is just no good.
Unfortunately, skill wasn't found in the NSW vernacular, and moments into the 2nd half, dazzling lapses allowed another QLD across. 20 - 0 after the conversion.
And why would the NRL want the Blues to win if they're going to sell tickets to a "decider"? A 2 - 0 series lead won't get yobs on seats.
65 minutes in and lacklustre performance is enough time for yet another QLD try. If this match has shown us anything, it's that 3 weeks is far too long between games. QLD brought spirit. NSW brought sluggards in football jerseys. This is why the game won't take off in Vic.
Reviewed on Wednesday, 14 June 2006