Sin bin farce sees State of Origin star escape punishment for ugly tackle... before being penalised for 'aggressive head rub'
- Liam Martin was sin binned on Wednesday night
- He escaped punishment for an ugly first half tackle
- But he was binned for patting a rival on the head
Lightning did not strike twice for Liam Martin on Wednesday night, with the NSW star finally sinbinned after avoiding punishment for an ugly first half tackle at the MCG.
The Blues enforcer, in Andrew Johns's view, should have been given a 10-minute sideline stint after lifting Reuben Cotter off the ground, tipping him beyond the parallel.
'This will be a sin bin to Liam Martin, if they're consistent,' Johns said on Channel 9.
'We saw one on the weekend with Roger Tuivasa-Sheck for the Warriors. Gets him up. Gets him over the parallel,' he added.
However, Martin survived, in a decision that set the footy world alight.
But justice prevailed in the second half, albeit in bizarre fashion, as Martin was sent for a temporary stint on the sidelines after rubbing Jaydn Su'a's head in the midst of an all-in shoving match.
The move was described as an 'aggressive head rub' by Channel 9's commentary team.
Maroons star Pat Carrigan was also sent to the bin as Queensland were unable to keep their cool amid a NSW onslaught.
Liam Martin was sinbinned for rubbing a rival player's head in Origin II
Wednesday's calamitous performance leaves Queensland staring into the abyss ahead of a crucial deciding match in Brisbane.
Reflecting on the performance, injured Maroons star Cameron Munster said: 'The 50/50 calls didn't go our way tonight.
'They played harder, tackled harder. That's the simple game of footy.
'They were dominant tonight, the Blues, unfortunately. We played some really good footy at the back end of that game.
'It was too little, too late.
'Not ideal, but I'm sure they will get the boys up at Suncorp and Gus nailed it on the head, first game, second game, doesn't really matter now.
'Got The Decider in Brisbane and got a good record there.
'Hopefully we can hold it.'
Martin was fortunate not to be temporarily sidelined for a bad tackle earlier in the game
NSW have not won a decider in Brisbane since 2005 but they will go to Suncorp Stadium brimming with confidence after bullying the Maroons off the park.
Queensland whizz Reece Walsh was barely sighted as the Blues cruised to a 34-0 halftime lead with Brian To'o and fellow winger Zac Lomax scoring two tries each.
The Maroons showed a semblance of a second-half fightback but they were unable to reel in a dominant NSW side.
