Why Dane Gagai didn’t pull his punches

Both were sent to the sin bin – NSW coach Brad Fittler thought it was ridiculous that Burton was marched for trying to defend himself – and the Cherry-Evans try didn’t even make it to the video review stage after Gagai was penalised for his actions.

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The seeds for the brawl were sewn in the opening minutes. When Cobbo was motionless on the turf, Luai reacted by standing over him and bellowing at him. Josh Papalii took exception and within two minutes, the first altercation was underway.

Asked about the early flashpoint by The Herald on Wednesday morning, Luai said he had checked on Cobbo’s welfare after the match and was relieved to learn the Broncos star had been cleared of any neck damage having left the field in a brace.

Luai insisted he was not aware Cobbo was concussed in the heat of the moment, and said he did not feel the need to apologise to him.

“He was alright, I spoke to him after the game,” Luai said.

“No apology needed and I’m not apologising for anything that I’ve done. It’s Origin footy and you expect to play like that.

“I’m not going to change for anyone as long as my teammates love to play with me and I can help them, I won’t change for anyone.”

NSW five-eighth Jarome Luai.Credit:Getty

Prior to that, Gagai had shielded Cobbo from the sea of bodies by crouching over him as the teams came together. But he said he held no grudges against Luai, who he thought would probably have that moment back if he could play the match again.

“We went out aggressively [after Burton] and as soon as he went into that tackle, I knew it was bad. He locked up and there were bodies all around,” Gagai said.

“In fairness, I heard some of the NSW boys shouting to take his mouthguard out. At the end of the day, it’s aggressive and passionate but there is a duty of care. To hear those Blues players, that showed that care. There’s a line you don’t cross and I’m sure if Luai had his time back, he might not have said what he said.

“A couple of years back [in 2020] Jai Arrow was criticised for what he did to Tedesco. Speaking to Jai, he wishes he could have had his time back. As soon as he did it, he knew he’d stuffed up. Luai is a good man away from the field.”