Phil Gould fumes at 'ridiculous' sin bin decision as NSW's perfect first half ruined

NSW's perfect first half in Origin I was ruined when Brian To'o was sent to the sin bin in the last play before half-time, with Phil Gould labelling the Bunker's decision "ridiculous".

A kick from Daly Cherry-Evans with seconds on the clock went to the sideline with Xavier Coates flying above To'o. Coates dropped the ball over the line as referee Ashley Klein called on the Bunker to assess whether it was a penalty try.

"There's no doubt he grabs Xavier Coates," Cameron Smith said on Nine.

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The Bunker ruled it was a professional foul with the contact denying a fair chance for Coates.

To'o was then binned with Valentine Holmes kicking a penalty goal to put the Maroons on the board before the break.

At half time, Maroons great and current Queensland selector Darren Lockyer said he thought the call was harsh.

"I thought he was a little hard done by, a professional foul is something you do deliberately, I think that was a reaction, an instinctive reaction," he said.

Phil Gould went harder, taking aim at the decision.

"I think it's a ridiculous exaggeration of the mid-air tackle rule ... I think that's a ridiculous interpretation of the rule and it's not a sin bin in an Origin match," he said.

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Asked about the incident post-match, Blues coach Laurie Daley took a subtle swipe at the use of slow motion replays when judging incidents in the Bunker.

Daley admitted that while he could see where To'o's hand had made contact with Coates in the air, he did not feel his player leapt up without showing intent to contest the ball.

"I think he went up to contest. Obviously (for) a split second he had his hand on his shoulder," Daley said post-match.

"If you slow anything down, you can turn it into whatever you want but that's the challenge that you face when you come here. It is what it was."

To'o confirmed his coach's beliefs, although revealed that he moved his arm in order to protect Coates as the pair fell to the turf.

"I was going for the ball but then I (did) a bit of protection first to try and help him down," To'o told Andrew Johns on Nine post-match.

"It is what it is. It's the first time I've been sent off so it was a little bit different."

Queensland coach Billy Slater felt the incident was correctly judged.

"I think that was about right, don't we all?" Slater said in his press conference.

"It was either a penalty try or a sin bin. The fact Xavier didn't take clean possession probably weighed more towards a sin bin than a penalty try.

"I have no concerns about that (call)."