Rugby League fans disagree with Phil Gould and Darren Lockyer on what happened in State of Origin

The rugby league game most of us had been waiting for has come and gone, with New South Wales defeating Queensland 18-6 at Suncorp Stadium.

Both sides went set for set to start the first half of State Origin Game 1 before New South Wales broke the deadlock thanks to a penalty goal from Nathan Cleary.

NSW continued to get the better of the Maroons in the arm wrestle and the pressure eventually got to the hosts, with the visitors scoring three tries in eleven minutes from the 25th to the 36th minute as Zac Lomax crossed twice and Brian To’o also touched down.

Cleary, however, failed with all three conversions as NSW only led 14-0 despite crossing three times. Then came the much talked about controversial moment as Daly Cherry-Evans kicked to the corner in the dying seconds of the first half for Xavier Coates to go head to head with To’o. Coates knocked on but To’o was adjudged to have tackled the Queensland winger without the ball, resulting in a sin-binning for To’o.

Rugby League fans across the globe reacted to the incident as many suggested the verdict should have been a penalty try for the Maroons.

Sammy Tee: Someone explain it to us that watch State of Origin but not much NRL. Why isn’t that a penalty try? If he’s not tackled mid air he has the ball and scores a try every day of the week.

Josh Bird: Penalty try. In the Broncos game v Dragons, Sloan got ‘tackled’ in the air and was awarded a penalty try. It was a try scoring opportunity??

Jason Finn: How is that not a penalty try??? 100% would’ve scored that if To’o didn’t grab him.

Leigh Watts: Penalty try every day of the week.

Shanee Holmes: Can someone please tell me how that’s not a penalty try????

Despite these calls for a penalty try, the verdict on the field was just a penalty to Queensland and Valentine Holmes added the two from the touchline, with To’o sin-binned.

Rugby league great and commentator Phil Gould was fuming with the call and gave his thoughts at half time.

“Ridiculous interpretation of the rule. That’s not a sin-binning in an Origin match,” Gould said on the match broadcast.

Rugby league legend Darren Lockyer also added: “I think it’s harsh and he’s been hard done by there.”

Queensland cut the deficit to eight points after the break as Coates dived over in the right-hand corner after quick hands set him free following a brutal tackle by Jeremiah Nanai on Latrell Mitchell, which saw the latter cough up the ball ten meters out from his own line.

But it was NSW who struck next with the decisive try when Dylan Edwards dived over after a brilliant offload from Connor Watson, who had three defenders draped over him on the last tackle.

NSW once again missed the conversion as the score sat at 18-6 to the Blues with six minutes remaining but Queensland never looked like coming back as the visitors deservedly took a 1-0 in the 2025 State of Origin series.