State of Origin I was ruined by Kalyn Ponga's send-off; there is very little doubt it turned the game on its head and allowed the Blues a shot at victory that they had not earned up until that point. But Ponga is the only one ultimately responsible for what happened.
Down 20-6 at halftime, the Blues were caught in a gritty territorial battle after the break, with the pouring rain not helping their attempts to run down the healthy Queensland lead. They had been totally outplayed in the first half, forced into errors and not able to defend the waves of Queensland attack.
Things were becoming desperate as the Maroons hemmed the Blues deep inside their own half. They started to throw the ball around, looking for any sign of weakness in the Queensland defence.
With 24 minutes remaining in the Origin opener, the Blues spread it to their left where the dangerous Tolutau Koula loomed onto the ball, crossing the halfway line, seemingly with only the fullback to beat. In a further illustration of his brilliant debut game, Sam Walker was able to track across and make the initial contact with Koula, hitting him at hip height in a perfect cover tackle. Walker's effort saw Koula's head drop to the point of contact with Ponga.
Ponga had moved across to confront the threat and as Koula and Walker crashed in front of him, he braced himself, leading with a folded arm, shoulder-first approach. Almost simultaneously his shoulder and head collided with Koula, knocking the Sea Eagles star out and causing a laceration to his own face.
Much of the consternation about the incident and whether Ponga should have been sent off has focused on the initial contact, with fans saying it was a head clash, not a shoulder to the head. This hair splitting does nothing to take away from the fact that Ponga was not attempting to make a legitimate tackle. His arm was locked in, his shoulder the weapon of choice in dealing with the rapidly evolving situation. The fact that his head caused the most damage, does not make things any better for Ponga's case.
There is no judgement to be made about the intent of Ponga, these incidents happen in a fraction of a second, instinct is the only real process involved. The most instinctual thing to do in that situation is to protect yourself from the collision, and your shoulder is the natural bollard to throw up.
Intent and the circumstances involved certainly come into consideration when determining the subsequent punishment for such an infringement, as does the new guidelines introduced to ensure that clubs are not punished for acts that their players carry out in the State of Origin arena. So Ponga was only fined for the incident. But should he have been sent to the sin bin instead of sent off?
It was a massive call from referee Ashley Klein, and if you're a Queensland fan you most likely believe that he overplayed his hand. But if we go through the facts; arm tucked, forceful contact made to player's head, no attempt made to wrap the arms in a legitimate tackle, it is a send-off offence.
The lore of Origin once dictated that the bar for a send-off must be set much higher in this ultimate test of rugby league toughness. But the enlightenment on head injuries and the long-term damage they cause has seen those days thankfully left behind. Koula failed his HIA and did not return to the game. The damage was real, as was the punishment for Ponga.
NRL General Manager of Elite Competitions, Graham Annesley supported Klein's decision in a statement released on Thursday.
"The NRL supports Ashley Klein's decision to send off Kalyn Ponga during State of Origin Game One," he said.
"This incident involved clear and forceful shoulder-to-head and head-to head contact with no mitigating factors.
"Player safety is extremely important and the game will make no apology for taking strong action on foul play."
Refreshingly, Queensland coach Billy Slater did not join the outcry over the decision in the post-match media interview.
"We can argue all we want, I haven't got any problems with it," he said.
"[Kalyn]'s OK, he feels he's let his team down. They happen at the back. I played that position, I know how it is.
"Spur of the moment, it was wet out there. Those things happen. I thought it was a courageous effort [from the team]. I'm heartbroken for them."
So, we move onto Game II at the MCG on June 17, with the Maroons no doubt spurred on by what they achieved in the first half, and bitter about what happened after the break. The Blues should be wary of being too overjoyed by the 1-0 series lead, clearly their first half performance was way short of where it needs to be.
If Queensland can win in Melbourne, we head to Suncorp Stadium for the decider. That's the last thing Laurie Daley and the Blues need.