Hunt left to shoulder the blame as bunker delivers penalty try
THE shoulder of Ben Hunt made history last night after the second penalty try in State of Origin history was awarded.
Blues captain Boyd Cordner was the beneficiary after referee Gerard Sutton described that there was no player “within cooee” of the NSW backrower as he was felled on his way to chasing the ball in a vacant Maroons in- goal.
The call was made in the 31st minute by video referee Steve Chiddy with the Blues trailing 10- 6 and struggling to make a dent in a rejuvenated Queensland forward pack.
Cordner was chasing an early tackle grubber from five- eighth James Maloney only to be impeded by Hunt, who moved to shoulder nudge Cordner off the ball, dropping the NSW skipper to the floor.
The ball bounced up perfectly in the in- goal for a potential Blues chaser only for Maroons centre Will Chambers to easily beat Nathan Cleary to win the race for the ball in Cordner’s absence.
Sutton referred the decision as no try before the bunker overturned the live ruling, deciding Cordner would have sprinted the 10 metres needed to regather the ball and score.
It was a rare blemish for veteran fullback Billy Slater, who was caught up in the ruck as Maloney capitalised on the op- portunity to send the ball into the in- goal on the fourth play.
Hunt would have been sinbinned had a penalty try not been awarded but instead Cordner was given just his second Origin try in 11 matches.
Queensland skipper Greg Inglis protested to Sutton immediately after the decision was flashed on the big screen, declaring he had “heard the touch judge say ( Cordner was) off- side initially”.
Inglis was on the opposite side of the field to where the infringement happened. Sutton dismissed his concerns.
“He is ahead of Will Chambers who ends up getting the ball,” Sutton told Inglis. “There was no one else within cooee. We reckon Boyd would have got there.”
It is just the second time a penalty try has been awarded in Origin history with last night the 112th battle between the states.
Queensland were the beneficiary of the only other penalty try, which was given to Mal Meninga in the Maroons 22- 15 victory against the Blues at Lang Park in 1981.
Kiwi referee Kevin Steele was in charge that night. It is perhaps the most significant penalty try given since the 1999 grand final was decided when Jamie Ainscough clocked Melbourne winger Craig Smith which handed the Storm the win at the same venue.