Mate against mate as Blues turn back clock
State against state, mate against mate was long the tagline of Origin but Blues teammates Paul Gallen, Andrew Fifita and Greg Bird seemed hellbent on turning back the clock during Retro Round.
There was plenty at stake in the 18-18 draw between Cronulla and Gold Coast on Monday when Bird's Titans put to bed the Sharks' hopes of breaking the Roosters' long-standing record of 19 consecutive wins.
The niggle was on par with what you'd expect from such a tight clash. First Bird copped plenty from Fifita after a knock-on, before the Titans back-rower laid all over his NSW teammate after a tackle.
It threatened to boil over when Fifita scored in the 72nd minute to tie things up. The Sharks firebrand gave Titans prop Luke Douglas a bit of stick before Gallen found his way into the fray and just as quickly found himself on his backside. Bird then shaped up against his good mate, both perhaps wishing that Retro Round had extended to the allowing of 1970s-style punch-ons.
Or maybe not.
