Maroons Beat Baby Blues
The first State of Origin game kicked off the series on Wednesday 3 June 2009 at Melbourne Etihad Stadium with a capacity of around 54,000 seats. Despite the current economic climate and pandemic outbreak, the event was sold out with fans travelling across the country to support their state teams.
Maroons led at half time 18-6. However, Blues kept determined until the end, being in possession of the ball 49% of the game, and slightly closed the gap to 28-18 by the end. Betters around Australia saw NSW Blues as the clear underdog with Queensland paying at $1.46 and NSW at $2.77 pre-game.
In the tenth minute expected Melbourne Storm full back Billy Slater made a head start for Queensland by scoring the first try of the game. The only downfall Maroons faced was Brisbane Broncos centre Justin Hodges helped off the field with a knee ligament injury which may rule him out for the rest of the State of Origin games for this series.
Jarryd Hayne is blamed for making most errors on Blue side, although he attempted to redeem himself by scoring a try late on in the game. However, video referees denied goal. Robbie Farah – praised for being the top tackler for NSW – made 35 tackles throughout the game.
Experienced Queenslanders are aiming for a fourth-in-a-row series win with the second match sold out at home venue Brisbane.
New South Wales Department of Health has concerns of residents crossing the border to infected states and returning to spread transmissions. The Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing said, “The Australian Government is working closely with state and territory governments and all relevant authorities to monitor the situation.”
Victoria has 395 confirmed cases of H1N1 influenza and, according to New South Wales Government Department of Health, NSW has 74 confirmed cases. As fans return home from State of Origin I, it is expected these numbers will rise.
Rugby news posted by jessamine on Thursday, June 04, 2009
