State of Origin: Maroons coach Paul Green blames NRL for Ronaldo Mulitalo eligibility fiasco after 26-0 loss to the Blues

Queensland coach Paul Green has blamed the NRL for the farcical scenes that saw Ronaldo Mulitalo ruled out of the Maroons squad on the morning of Sunday’s 26-0 loss to the NSW Blues.

Mulitalo was set to make his debut for the Maroons on the wing after he was named as an injury replacement for Reece Walsh, who suffered a hamstring injury at training on Friday.

But what was supposed to be the culmination of a dream turned into a nightmare for the Cronulla young gun when the QRL ruled him out due to uncertainty over his eligibility.

Speaking after losing his first series in charge of the Maroons after the NSW Blues took an unassailable 2-0 lead, Green insisted Mulitalo should have been allowed to play in the Suncorp Stadium clash.

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“It’s obviously a massive breakdown in the process and I don’t think that’s finished yet,” Green said.

“… From all the information that was available to us, he was eligible to play.”

Under the ARL Commision’s revised Origin eligibility rules established in 2012, players must have lived in their state before their 13th birthday.

It appears Mulitalo, who played Under-20s for the Maroons, moved from Auckland to Queensland prior to his 14th birthday making him ineligible.

But an unimpressed Green put the onus on the NRL, pointing out that the governing body registered Mulitalo’s previous two contracts with Cronulla, which stipulated he is eligible for the Maroons.

“Well he signed his last two contracts and in that he signed his eligibility to say he was (eligible) for Queensland,” Green said.

“… We (QRL) don’t register the contracts, we’re not part of that process, we just get a list of a database that says they’re eligible that says they’re eligible, based on that (their contracts).”

Asked how much of a distraction the drama surrounding Mulitalo was in the lead up to Sunday’s loss, skipper Daly Cherry-Evans replied: “I don’t know, I honestly can’t measure it because it’s never happened before.

“It’s a real different one but I honestly thought we did so well to put it to the side and I thought the way was showed our intensity and our effort, it didn’t knock us about too much.

“But we’ll never know, it’s never been seen before and I hope it doesn’t happen again because I can’t imagine what’s been going through poor Ronaldo’s head the last 24 hours, it’s a shame that we’ve done that.”