NSW Blues vs Queensland Maroons; Daley, Slater name strong squads with kick off at 8.05pm from Accor Stadium
Maroons coach Billy Slater was calm as he entered the post-match press conference following his side’s shocking defeat after Kalyn Ponga was sent off.
“It is,” said Slater. “I have no problem with that.”
“He thinks he let his team down, but these things happen in games. These things happen very quickly. I was in his situation, I know how difficult it is. All of a sudden, it’s wet outside, things happen. I thought it was a brave effort from our players. I’m heartbroken for them, the effort they put in. They played with a lot of heart.”
Queensland captain Cameron Munster said he initially thought it was head-on contact but had to accept referee Ashley Klein’s decision.
“I thought it might have been a head-to-head situation with the split in KP’s ear, but the referee in the dugout saw it differently so at the end of the day rules are rules and unfortunately there is a bit of pressure on his head so I’m not too sure,” Munster said.
“We did the best we could and tonight unfortunately it wasn’t enough… When you have 12 men it gets out of hand.”
