The great Cooper Cronk of Queensland Origin set his state’s tactics on target in the last minute of the first game at the Adelaide Oval.
The Maroons bounced back from a 10-0 deficit at halftime and went back to 18-10 before Josh Addo-Carr cut the deficit to just four points in the final five minutes.
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While NSW pressed hard, the Blues spent the last minute of the game right on Queensland’s line.
After a blow that gave the Blues a scrum in the Maroons attack zone, Queensland tried to slow the game down.
Jai Arrow suffered a cramp before Queensland missed a Josh Papalii penalty after the scrum.
After Maroons second rower spread the ball wide, Maroons second rower Felise Kaufusi was punished and sentenced to sin after a flop on Clint Gutherson.
But the Queenslander played stupid and refused to leave the field despite the tackle being made in the corner.
Over time, NSW put the ball through their hands and James Tedesco was eventually attacked by five Queenslanders.
As the quintet slowly separated, time passed and Sutton lost time, despite protests from NSW players when Tedesco was attacked six seconds before the end.
Despite being a veteran of 22 games for Queensland, Cronk had a big problem with the decision.
“Just that controversial little end there towards the end,” Cronk said on the Fox League Post-Origin show.
“Kaufusi, that was the right call he had to make. But a few seconds before the end there were about five Queensland Maroons basically giving away the penalty and waiting for the clock to run out.
“Gerard Sutton should have given a penalty and maybe given NSW two seconds to prepare for a game because that was an infringement that had to be followed up.”
Daily Telegraph journalist and NRL 360 host Paul Kent went a step further and called for Sutton to be disqualified from the referee for the country of origin.
“Gerard Sutton has to lose for the next game,” said Kent. “After that, he shouldn’t control Origin anymore. He totally lost it there.
“Kaufusi was just belligerent and refused to leave the field and pretended not to know what was going on. Sutton should have got him out.
“And then at the last minute NSW actually passed the ball from the dummy half with the time on the clock. Then the siren rang with the ball in play and he whistled all day. That does not make sense. “
Kent targeted the Kaufusi Sin as tactics were clear after a second consecutive penalty from the Maroons.
“Look at Kaufusi, he was told to go,” Kent said. “Still doesn’t move, still doesn’t move, he can easily get out of the picture, he only has ten feet to go to the sidelines here, still on the field, look back.
“That should have been changed to an immediate discharge. He should be penalized by the NRL for this and then get Referee Sutton wrong again here. Queensland has been great, Queensland deserves to win, but at this level of the sport it’s just unacceptable for it to be official that way. “
Cronk agreed.
“Right here and there, with five Queenslanders with a second or two on the clock, Sutton – and I don’t want to say that because I’m a Queenslander – would have blown the penalty and abandoned the game for having five people in such a duel rarely happens, which tells me it is by design, and they should have given NSW a shot at fame to see if they can win it. “
But Cronk praised Wayne Bennett with a cheeky smile that betrayed his words.
Some on social media were also quick to ask the question.
Separately, Queensland took the win and the 1-0 victory to Sydney, with NSW now having to win a series in Queensland for the first time since 1994.
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