NSW was brilliant, the only problem is, there playing against the greatest Origin team ever assembled, and yes at times that can be a bitter pill to swallow.
The greatest disappointed of the toughest ever Origin series, is the lack of respect shown from southern media outlets. Now I'm not saying the occasional Jibe, and bit of banter that flows between the northern and southern media isn't good fun from time to time.
The real problem hits home when media begin to skew the facts and no longer report events with accuracy and integrity. It's ok to be disappointed, it's not ok to abuse your penmanship to twist events and give the public an un accurate reading of the way the games transpired.
Yes the Inglis try was 50/50, but the rules do state that using your feet to prevent a try is illegal, also if you ignore this rule the ball was kicked out of Inglis hands, which in turn is "play on". For those that can count Qld won by 8 points not 6, so it's a far stretch.
In game three the Hodges try was ruled legal due to the fact that no player was obstructed by the decoy run of Qld prop Ben Hannant. The rule states a shepherd is when one player uses a player of their own team, to obstruct and impede a defender from reaching them, and this was not the case. I find it difficult when social media leaders of our great game use their standing to argue points that deep down they know to be incorrect. The sad part of this great try is if NSW scored it, we would have heard nothing about it. (And rightly so)
It's great that both states media contingent are so passionate about the State of Origin series, after all it's the greatest sporting rivalry on the planet. But when your passion blinds your common sense, and writing integrity, it's time to step back and take stock, even just to take a minute to look at the bigger picture.
It's not even once in a generation that the media get to write about a team of this magnitude of greatness, this may never be repeated. In the Rugby League almanacs of the future, this team will spread across many chapters. It will be such a shame for the southern media to look back in the decades to come and realise the opportunity they lost, having lived through the greatest ever origin period and failing collectively to capture great writing moments worthy of such an iconic sporting dynasty.
This catastrophic reporting from southern media, springs a phrase to mind coined by Australian social commentator Darren Hinch "Shame, shame, shame".