CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
If you thought the blow-out point margins were exciting, wait until you see what the NRL has in store for you tonight.
Tonight’s game III State of Origin match is no longer a ‘dead rubber’ – after Peter V’Landys ordered refs to wait until the 80th minute to decide who wins the series.
This isn’t the only last minute changes to the 2021 State Of Origin Series, as the ongoing lockdown in Greater Sydney has seen the match shifted from Newcastle’s Hunter Stadium to the Gold Coast – with kick-off is scheduled for 8:10pm AEST.
Peter V’Landys says after such a fragmented series of last-minute venue changes that saw Queensland getting romped in their own backyard twice, he wants to add to the excitement of the series and has given the canetoads another shot at winning this year’s series – despite the fact they’ve already lost two of three matches.
However, Blues fans are once again feeling jilted, after having victory snatched from their hands this year as the NRL boss demands tonight’s referee call a ‘next-try-wins-the-series’ at the 80th minute.
First the new high-tackles rules meant they didn’t get to Victory the Inflictor play in the first two clashes, now they don’t even get the pleasure of watching Queensland play a pointless match of football to round out a series they already lost a week ago.
“Next-try-wins is the future of rugba leeg” said Peter V’Landys in a press conference earlier today.
“I think all fans should get used to the idea of us just randomly dropping one of these calls throughout the season to raise the stakes”
“For example, tonight’s match, the players will get to the 80th minute thinking they know the result of the series, but when the ref drops A Next Try Wins at the 80th minute, we’ll see an entirely different level of rugby league being played in front of us”
However, Clint Newton from the players association says this kind of flip-flop rule-changing is becoming increasingly hard for the players to keep up with, and that the series should go to the team who already got to sing the song in front of the fireworks.
Peter V’Landys has responded to the Players Association’s claims by saying any footballer who can’t get his head around Next-Try-Wins at the 80th minute might actually need to come off for an HIA.
“Now that’s it” said V’Landys.
“Let’s play football!”
