Fittler questions sin bin call but accepts Queensland were the 'better team' in Origin Game III

Joshua Mayne

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Fittler questions sin bin call but accepts Queensland were the 'better team' in Origin Game III image

Blues coach Brad Fittler has questioned the sin-bin incident involving Matt Burton and Dane Gagai in Origin Game III but ultimately accepted they were outplayed by a determined Queensland outfit.

New South Wales fell to Queensland 22-12 in a pulsating affair on Wednesday, which notably involved a fight early in the second half.

After taking issue with Burton crashing over Kalyn Ponga in back play, Gagai pushed the young Bulldog, before the pair threw punches at each other.

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Queensland's Tino Fa'asuamaleaui also got involved, putting Burton in a headlock as the fight continued.

In his post-match press conference, Fittler felt his side were hard done by, with referee Ashley Klein sending both Gagai and Burton from the field. 

"At the end of the day, [Burton] didn't initiate it," Fittler said.

"He's not going to fight anyone.

"He's got belted ... then he got in a headlock, and we walk out with one player down each.

"That's ridiculous."

Despite having a two-point lead heading into the sheds, the Blues were unable to contain a rampant Maroons side in the second half.

New South Wales captain James Tedesco explained that he didn't feel his side were favourites coming into the match, despite being backed to claim the series victory in Brisbane. 

"We didn't think of ourselves as favorites up here [in Queensland] in a decider," Tedesco said.

"There haven't been many wins for New South Wales here so we knew it wasn't going to be easy.

"We weren't going to be given any favours, and that's Origin for you.

"It doesn't matter who's playing for Queensland ... they're going to show up and play for their state.

"And that's what they did - outplayed us."

Fittler echoed his captain's thoughts, going on to acknowledge the Maroons' superiority on the night.

"We were two really evenly placed teams - both [sides] have got some really good players," he said.

"And it's really hard to win here [in Queensland], without a doubt, and [the Maroons] proved that again tonight.

"But they played well - they were very good. Great energy.

"Ben Hunt was outstanding. Kalyn Ponga was outstanding.

"So I thought they were definitely the better team."

Joshua Mayne

Joshua Mayne Photo

Joshua Mayne is a content producer for The Sporting News Australia based in Sydney, Australia. He has previously worked as a newsreader at 2SER and journalist at Ministry of Sport. While Joshua’s main passions are football, rugby league, basketball and F1, he will watch any sport that's on. He is still waiting for Arsenal to win the Premier League again.