Blues prop Aaron Woods said he didn't enjoy seeing replays of Queensland fullback Billy Slater dropping his elbows into a prone Josh Morris in Origin I, and that NSW may need to take the fight to Queensland to avoid getting bullied out of the series in Game Two.
"They didn't get penalised for it in the game so it must have been legal," Woods said of several incidents that have drawn the ire of Blues supporters.
"You've got to fight fire with fire I suppose. If you see it in the game you've got to back your mate up.
"If your mate's getting hit late you've got to go in there and help him out or protect him. Probably a couple of times we didn't [do that enough] – when J Moz was on the ground, and got hit from behind in his back I thought there were a couple of players that squashed him which was a bit disappointing.
"It happens in most games. Billy Slater's probably a target. It's Origin.
"If one of your mates gets hit late or something you've got to come in, you've got to help him out. It's one of those things, we were probably under the pump at the time and the boys were just happy to get the penalty."
Of his own mammoth game, which yielded 157 metres – the most of any forward from either team – and 38 tackles in a big 55-minute stint, Woods said he was just happy to get some solid minutes on the park.
"I was just happy to get some time. I never really worry about what people have been saying. If Laurie [Daley] gives us a role and I've done a role for him then I'm happy.
"You always want to average over 100 metres per game, to get that in Origin was pretty cool."
Woods wasn't expecting his minutes to dip as a result of the return of hard-working skipper Paul Gallen.
"Not at all, because Gal's at lock. We pretty much just trained with four front rowers so he'll stay at lock and swap with Jacko [Josh Jackson] when he gets on the field."
