Although Matt Adamson thought New South Wales displayed admirable commitment on Wednesday night, the fact remains that if they're to beat Queensland, the Blues need everything to go their way.

Considering the refereeing remains front and back page news two days after the fact, it's obvious the Blues had no luck.

I want to focus on the many positives coming from New South Wales performance but it would be remiss of me not to have a say on the standard of refereeing.

Simply - it was diabolical.

Inept refereeing doesn't just hurt the team that the decisions go against, but in a showcase such as State of Origin, it does huge damage to the credibility of the contest.

The Greg Inglis try has been the primary point of conjecture out of Origin One, but I believe there were three other incidents that were equally as influential on the outcome of the match.

Needless to say, they all went against the Blues.

The penalty awarded to QLD before half-time for a "dangerous tackle" was laughable. It was stinging defense, the kind that State of Origin has been built on.

Surely enough, Queensland scored off the back of that penalty, which Bill Harrigan has subsequently admitted was the wrong call.

What recourse does New South Wales have?

There were numerous situations where Blues players were blocked by Maroons defenders' when chasing high, attacking kicks. One in particular stands out when Robbie Farah ended up on the broad of his back thanks to an intentional shoulder from a Queensland defender. It was a blatant penalty in any NRL game.

How can we miss such blatant incidents when the nearly four-million TV viewers saw the same thing?

The Blues were denied a prime attacking opportunity.

And lastly, the brawl.

Michael Jennings deserved to go to the bin and was irresponsible for flying in with a haymaker. But what about Matt Scott and Brent Tate who entered the fray before Jennings?

Whenever an incident of this nature occurs at club level referees always march a player from each side to ensure a sufficient punishment is handed down while still maintaining an even contest.

It is an unwanted aftermath to an otherwise a great game.

I don't anticipate many changes to the Blues side for game two but I still maintain Mitchell Pearce isn't the answer at halfback. Again, he was disappointing and his kicking game diabolical.

On the positive side, Jarryd Hayne showed how brilliant he really is. I am sure Steve Kearney was wondering why his main man can't show that sort of form for Parramatta, but Hayne is a legitimate big game star.

Robbie Farah looked dangerous from dummy half all game and he's proven the knockers wrong. That spot should be his for many campaigns to come.

The Maroons are into Betfair odds of $1.27 to win the series after their victory in Melbourne while Betfair punters can get Betfair odds of $4.60 for NSW.

I can't see the Blues coming back from an opening loss.

THIS WEEKEND'S NRL

Be wary when betting in the NRL this weekend, with Origin stars forced to back-up from a highly physical encounter.

I like two outsiders.

Don't think I am crazy but Canberra are a live chance of upsetting Souths.

Why?

Emotion.

With Inglis back into the Rabbitohs line-up, I can sense some complacency from a team that is enjoying a good season.

Conversely, the Raiders have had a shocking week with Josh Dugan stood down for another alcohol-related breach.

Canberra will take a 'nothing to lose' approach and could shock the Rabbitohs.

At $4.40, I have had an interest on the under siege Raiders.

I also think the Gold Coast can upset Newcastle. Scott Prince has been cleared to play and the Titans are stringing together some good form after resembling a park side earlier in the season.

Conversely, there's not much to admire about the Knights at present and I couldn't back them @$1.56.

Two favourites who will win are the ultra-professional Melbourne, who do have Slater, Cronk and Smith on the back-up against the Broncos, who've opted to rest their Origin players, and Manly,who will put a score on Penrith.