Annesley backs handling of Origin brawl as data highlights intensity of clash

NRL head of football Graham Annesley has backed the decision to sin bin rival centres Dane Gagai and Matt Burton but not Maroons forward Tino Fa'asuamaleaui over their involvement in the brawl that ignited last Wednesday night’s Origin decider.

Gagai and Burton were sent to the sin bin by referee Ashley Klein after trading punches at the start of the second half, but Fa'asuamaleaui escaped the same fate after rushing in and grabbing Burton in a headlock as he tried to separate the pair.

Fa'asuamaleaui was fined 7% of his match payments for the incident and another 13% for a high tackle earlier in the match, which left Burton with swelling under his eye and assured the Titans captain of a hostile welcome in Sunday’s match against the Bulldogs.

NSW captain Brad Fittler questioned the decision to sin bin Burton and not Fa'asuamaleaui for being third man in, and also how Gagai and Burton had been fined more after the pair were docked 25% of their match payments.

However, Annesley said he was happy with the way the incident had been dealt with on the field by Klein and afterwards by the match review committee.

“It is a matter for the match officials to determine. I have no problem whatsoever with the two players that were sent to the sin bin,” Annesley said of Gagai and Burton.

“I know that there were some people that would suggest that Tino should have been sent to the bin as well. His involvement was different, but the match officials dealt with that in consultation with the bunker and then the match review committee dealt with it.

“I think it was important that action was taken on the field and it was just as important that it was dealt with by the match review committee.”

The Origin decider, won 22-12 by Queensland, has been widely hailed as one of the best matches ever witnessed and statistics provided by the NRL confirm that the speed and intensity of the game was at near record levels.

The ball was in play for 60:42m, which was significantly higher than the 2021 (58:54m) and 2022 (56:06m) series averages.

There was also an increase in the number of play-the-balls (310) and off-loads (27).

"People keep saying that Origin can’t get any faster and it can’t get any more action packed but it just continues to deliver," Annesley said.

“In the 80 minutes that we did play we are three and a bit sets [of tackles] up on last year’s average.

"Second phase play, or players being able to take the ball to the line and off-load, is also significantly up on last year and the first two games of the series."

GPS data also showed that players ran more than 7km in the series decider - more than 1km further than last year's series average of 5,958m.

The average sprint metres per player at Suncorp Stadium were 373m, which is 20% more than last year's series average or the 2022 NRL average.

“You can see that the total distance covered by players, on average, is over 7km, which is up on the other two games of the series and well up on last year’s series, and is significantly up on the NRL average across the season," Annesley said.

“This information just reinforces that it was an incredible game of rugby league, and why it is the showpiece of the rugby league season year-in and year-out."