An incensed Andrew Johns has delivered a scathing assessment of NSW's performance in blowing a 16-6 lead on Wednesday night, branding it the "dumbest half of football" the Blues have played and blasting them for not targeting the suspect shoulder of match-winner Johnathan Thurston.
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Stunned by yet another Queensland fightback, to send this year's Origin campaign to a decider in Brisbane, NSW centre Josh Dugan conceded the hosts had been guilty of "putting the cue in the rack", while captain Boyd Cordner pointed the finger at breaches of discipline for letting slip what had appeared destined to be a series-clinching victory.
Former NSW halfback Johns was more blunt in his immediate post-game analysis, appearing stunned that the Blues had failed to run at Thurston, who missed the first game of the series with a shoulder injury and slotted the winning conversion despite playing on one arm.
"It's the dumbest half of football NSW have played," Johns said on Channel Nine.
"They had all the running, their game plan was perfect. Johnathan Thurston, his performance tonight was so courageous. I guarantee he'll be heading for an operation the next couple of days.
"His shoulder his stuffed. You just go at him all night. You go at him and then it put pressure on the defenders either side. They didn't go to him once in the second half. I couldn't believe what I was watching. You've got a player out there who cannot pick his arm up off the ground and they didn't target his side of the field or go at the defenders either side. They didn't go there once – I don't know what they were doing."
Dugan, who was one of the Blues' best after he shifted to fullback when James Tedesco left the field due to a head knock, admitted NSW had taken their foot off the pedal after establishing a 10-point lead.
"That was probably our downfall," said Dugan. "We knew they were a great side and they've got the players to claw back leads and I think we were a bit guilty of putting the cue in the rack and trying to defend the lead rather than playing the footy that got us our lead in the first place. "I just think we went away from our footy that was winning us the game. Paying through the middle, playing fast. In the second half I think we tried to go around them too much. We've just got to get back to playing our footy, fast through the middle."
Cordner, who fought back tears in the post-match press conference, said the defeat was "gut-wrenching".
"We played well to get into that position and get in front but it wasn't good enough on the disciplinary areas of the game down there," Cordner said. "We'd make a good first few tackles and give away cheap yards. You can't do it to a side like Queensland. They showed why. You just can't give them too much quality ball so they'll hurt you like they did to us late in the second half there."
Thurston stepped up amid a stadium full of boos to clinch a famous Maroons win. "I'm over the moon," Thurston said. "It's what dreams are made of. A massive effort from our boys. We were behind the eight-ball coming in at half-time but we hung in there and we kept fighting for each other."
Queensland captain Cameron Smith added: "I don't think there were a lot of people that thought we could do it but we had a strong belief throughout the week that our preparation would get us home."
"When you need a big moment and a guy to step up and make a big play, it's always nice to have JT in your team. To kick that goal under so much pressure. I couldn't even hear myself think when those boos were going up when he was kicking."
