As the dust settles on what most are tagging as the greatest State of Origin series ever, the heartbreaking single-point loss is still a bitter pill for the NSW team to take.
The awarding of the controversial Justin Hodges try in the first half has again stirred up the Blues camp, with NSW assistant coach Trent Barrett joining Blues legend Brad Fittler in slamming the decision.
“Not a try,” says Barrett. “Clear as day, you can’t run behind blokes.
“If the roles were reversed and we scored a try like that I would of happily copped a penalty. I agree with Freddy’s comments 100 per cent, it was a disgraceful decision.”
Barrett, who was also critical of the Greg Inglis try in Origin I in Melbourne, also believes referees co-coach Bill Harrigan should be more involved with the decision-making during the games.
“Bill Harrigan should be in the box with the video referees helping on decisions. If Bill Harrigan is the man accountable then he should be in the box; if he has the right answers all the time then he should be the one making the calls.”
Harrigan has publicly backed the decision by the video referee to award the try, telling NRL.com he fully supports the view formed by the video referees that “the (decoy) player did not have an effect on the scoring of the try”.
Barrett also weighs in on the hot topic of Ricky Stuart’s future as NSW coach and the potential for him to coach at club and state level at the same time.
And to wrap up our Origin coverage we take you through the top five moments in Origin III, which looks very much like a Morris family highlights reel.
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