'I was yelling and screaming': Queensland icon Fatty Vautin laments Origin I shocker from Maroons forwards

Maroons great Paul Vautin has put the spotlight on the side's forwards ahead of game two, admitting he was "screaming" at the TV watching Origin I.

Queensland's pack were thoroughly outplayed by the Blues leading to the dominant 18-6 result.

Speaking to the ABC, Vautin described the performance as "really disappointing".

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"It was the first time in 34 years I've actually sat at home and watched a game from the lounge chair and I didn't really enjoy it too much," he admitted.

"I was yelling and screaming at the screen because not one NSW player went to bed that night with a bruise, not one. I thought we were really, really soft.

"It's Origin, boys, you've just got to rip and tear. I'm not talking about fighting and throwing punches, just aggressiveness. There was no aggressive play from our forwards and that's the reason we got beaten."

The fallout from the loss meant coach Billy Slater dropped Daly Cherry-Evans as halfback and as captain. Tom Dearden will play half while Cameron Munster is captain.

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Vautin thought that was unfair but backed Slater's decision making.

"I feel for Daly Cherry-Evans getting dropped. He did nothing wrong, his game was probably a seven out of 10 and he's normally around a seven or eight every game he plays," he said.

"With the lack of go forward and lack of forward play we produced, he couldn't do a lot.

"They've got to lift, Billy's made a couple of changes ... I will say this, a lot of halfbacks are stagnant when they get the ball but Tom Dearden, every time he gets the ball, he's running forward ... as soon as you do that, the rest of the backline follows and goes with you. I do like that about Tom Dearden ... I think he is a good inclusion. I'm not going to argue with Billy and anything he does because he's a lot smarter than me and a lot of other people."

Former Maroons coach Wayne Bennett was also asked about Origin II ahead of his Rabbitohs side's clash with the Bulldogs.

Bennett backed the decision around the captaincy.

"I think we're all disappointed in game one. I think Cameron being named captain is a great move, they'll just have to show their fighting spirit," he said.

"NSW have won the last three games and the reason why they've done that is not because we haven't turned up but we've got to find the spirit that makes a bit of a difference for us ... if we play without that, then I don't think we can win."

While Queensland's performance has been the major talking point after Origin I, the lack of spice around the series has festered in the background.

Criticism has come the way of the NRL with Latrell Mitchell and Spencer Leniu allowed to embark on a media ban while the game itself lacked its usual Origin standard performance.

Vautin was critical of the Origin I spectacle as a whole, calling on the refs to let the game flow.

"Origin I think, it's losing it's lustre as the great battle that it once was, it's turning into like an overpriced club game at the moment," he said.

"If they can release the hounds as far as the rules are concerned then I think it will be a lot better."