We don’t blame Origin refs: Qld skipper

Cameron Smith has taken a swipe at NSW coach Laurie Daley, saying Queensland’s legacy has been built on taking ownership of their performance and not making excuses by blaming referees.

The Queensland captain also laughed off suggestions referees gave the Maroons the rub of the green, accusing the Blues of trying to influence officials before the State of Origin opener.

Daley made it clear he was unhappy with the performance of Ben Cummins and Gerard Sutton in the Blues’ 6-4 Origin I loss, saying he would be “asking for those two referees not to be officiating in game two”.

Smith said Daley was entitled to his opinion but believed issues that needed to be addressed in a losing team could be papered over when a coach blamed a referee.

“It can create excuses,” he said.

“I think players listen to the coach’s comments and think that everything is quite rosy on the field (when they blame a referee).

“But I am not inside their (NSW) camp.”

Smith said during their stunning run of nine series wins in 10 years, Queensland had taken pride in never blaming anyone but themselves for a loss.

“It’s something we have built over a long period of time,” he said.

“The results come down to our performances, whether we win or lose, and we take ownership of that.

“We’ve done that over the last 10 years, whether it is good or bad.

“It’s up to us the way we play and the result.

“We don’t try to look elsewhere other than within our squad.”

Smith was amused that critics believed Queensland received all the 50-50 calls in Origin I, saying NSW tried to influence via the media how they wanted referees to officiate the series opener.

“It’s pretty funny. I have heard that plenty of times,” Smith said.

“I think they (NSW) tried to get into the referee’s mind before game one down in Sydney; I think it was in the paper down there.

“But that isn’t something I can control.”

Daley was filthy at a number of contentious calls, notably a disallowed Josh Morris try in Origin I.

But Smith was adamant Queensland did not get all the 50-50 calls.

“I just thought it was a fairly balanced game,” he said.

“We missed out on some 50-50 calls as well.

“There was a dead set strip on Sam Thaiday they called a knock-on.

“The 50-50 calls that went against them were in the last five minutes so they are in everyone’s memory bank.

“For me on the field, I don’t think anyone got the rub of the green.”

Queensland enjoyed a fan day at Gladstone on Tuesday before entering their Gold Coast camp for Wednesday week’s Origin II.

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