AFL great Nathan Brown has taken a friendly jab at Zac Lomax after his spectacular aerial try in Origin II at the MCG.
Lomax leaped clear of Maroons opposite number Murray Taulagi to score the Blues‘ third try of the night at the MCG.
“As if he was in the forward pocket,” Nine caller Mat Thompson quipped, referring to the primary code played at the ground.
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While it was no Alex Jesaulenko in 1970 or Paul Chapman in 2007 – it was maybe more Leo Barry in the ’05 decider – Lomax’s grab was spectacular regardless.
But speaking on Nine’s Today on Thursday morning, Brown suggested it would barely have raised an eyebrow had it happened in the other winter footy code.
At least not for Lomax. He reckons Taulagi might have been hooked for letting it happen.
“Look it was a nice mark, but for me it was regulation. We take those in our sleep,” he said in an appearance opposite Maroons legend Sam Thaiday.
“I’d be more concerned about the defender who basically stood there and said, ‘hey, you can jump on my back’ – he did no defensive work at all.
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“If an AFL coach got him, he’d be dragged off the ground. So he needed some defensive work.”
Brown made 219 AFL appearances across stints at the Western Bulldogs and Richmond Tigers. He’s also a two-time All-Australian.
Thaiday said he would need to “see a therapist” following the Maroons’ 38-18 loss.
“It’s still only fresh for me at the moment, I still need to process it, go see my therapist, talk about it, get my feelings out there so I can move on and think about game three,” he said.
The 29-game Maroons legend said the Blues were “absolutely incredible” in the first half.
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”Queensland kept on handing them over possession, giving them penalties, six agains, and they just couldn’t hold him out,” Thaiday said.
“NSW came to play … they were they were more desperate than Queensland.
“But the best thing about game three is both teams are desperate to win the series now. It’s going to be an absolute cracker right here in my home town of Brisbane.”
Game three is on July 17.