It was your typical Origin clash, high intensity with bone-crunching collisions as both NSW and Queensland ripped in for the full 80 minutes of game one of the 2016 series.
The three Sharks played varying roles, with skipper Paul Gallen on the field for the entire first half then the opening seven minutes of the second, before he was replaced by his NSW and Cronulla teammate Andrew Fifita.
Gallen then returned for a second stint inside the last 10 minutes but as hard as he tried was unable to get his team over the line in a frantic final few minutes.
While Gallen had his usual busy game, running for 125 metres on 15 carries, in addition to making 26 tackles, the impact of Fifita off the bench made all 80,000 at ANZ Stadium sit up and take notice.
Injected into the contest in the 47th minute the Sharks prop charged into the opposition, helping NSW gain some momentum however his efforts weren’t quite enough to tip the ledger in the favour of his team as Queensland held on to register a 6-4 triumph.
As for the third Shark, James Maloney was rated by many to be NSW best on the night, with the five eighth a constant threat with the ball in hand while also laying on his teams’ only try with a perfectly weighted pass to Boyd Cordner.
On the injury front, all three Sharks have checked in following the game and have reported no concerns.
The trio will take today to rest up and assess the bumps and bruises before returning to training with the Sharks tomorrow.
The Sharks NRL squad has a field session scheduled on Friday, a day off on Saturday and a captains run on Sunday before Monday night’s match against the Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium.
