From the reader

I cant let these comments go unpunished!

Last nights game was a farce. It was decided before kick off.

The refereeing was so one sided, that it is hard to get a head of steam going when the guys with the whistle are against you.

At least when (Grasshopper) Gommersal was in the middle you knew where you stood.

Last nights fiasco was laughable. How many times did QLD lay all over the tackled player, slowing the ball down to a pace akin to Barcelona!?!?

Every time Thaiday tackled a player, his hands were all over the ball.

But I will not whinge too much as the better team did win.

The question I must ask is this….where is the Blues passion?

In days gone by, Thaiday's slap on Gidley would have been reason for an all in…today no one seemed to care.

Smith's dog antics at kneeing Hayne in the back should have resulted in punches flying everywhere and standing behind a mate.

Until NSW gets that hunger back, we will not win.

JT and Lockyer are merely made to look good by our ineptitude.

Have a crack at that big AL!

Response:

I'm not going to disagree that the Blues lack passion...a charge that's been leveled at NSW for the best part of Origin history. Characters like MG, The Chief, Turvey and Joey, whose fire and brimstone approach to the clash of the states has been on par with the Maroons, has often evaded many of those lucky enough to don the sky blue jersey. I'm also not going to disagree that Thaiday and Cam Smith get away with murder. This isn't just related to Origin games. Both players push the limits in club footy too. Ennis often gets labelled as a grub because of his niggle. But that's mostly because of his big mouth. Cam Smith might be well spoken off the field and keeps his mouth shut on the field...but from the spectators perspective he has to be one of the dirtiest players in the game. Thaiday's nickname as 'Third Man In' is well deserved, and the less time wasted on his antics the better.

I can't agree that JT and Lockyer are made to look good by our ineptitude or the refereeing though. QLD has it over us in almost every key position. Smith over Ennis at hooker. Slater over Mini at fullback. Lockyer and Thurston over Pearce and Soward in the halves. For crying out loud I'd rate Cooper Cronk, QLD's third string half, as better than both of our starters. Scott over Mannah at prop...the list just goes on.

Speaking of props, here are some quick props from the weekend's activities:

Australian Diamonds - winning the World Netball Championships over our friends across the ditch. Another Aussie world champ! Well done

Queensland Reds - restoring some much needed credibility to the local scene by taking out the Super Rugby competition, and doing it by playing some attractive Rugby (is was wondering if that even existed!!!). Great job by Ewen McKenzie. Pity about the colour of the jersey

Alonso - great to see Alonso getting one over Vettel at Silverstone. It's far too early to say 'Game On' with Vettel still 96 points ahead, but at least it adds some intrigue to a F1 season becoming rather ho-hum

Matildas - although they lost 3-1 to Sweden in the women's football World Cup quarter finals, they played their hearts out during the tournament, and showed what can be achieved when you play attacking football and make your own luck. Socceroos take note

Parra Eels - a win...finally!!! Enough said