What's been good, bad and a little bit strange about this weekend in Queensland sport?
The Good
1. Origin drama
It wouldn't be Origin time without players in hospital or in doubt and flying in and out of camp. Even more impressive - the miraculous recoveries of players as the clock ticks down towards game time. Greg Inglis, Justin Hodges and Billy Slater are all reportedly on track to play in game one but their patchy attendance has given everyone something to talk about. Meanwhile, the Blues have gone high-tech, with bio patches and cryotherapy.
2. Women's sport
Women's sport of all codes is actually starting to be taken seriously. This week our female cricketers received a much-deserved pay rise from Cricket Australia. Meanwhile, some of the country's best footballers battled it out in the third AFL-sanctioned women's match at the MCG, including five Queenslanders. Earlier this month, rugby league's Jillaroos played out an exciting performance at Suncorp Stadium. The Matildas thrashed Vietnam in their farewell match before heading off to contest the Women's World Cup. Oh, and Queensland has the best netball side in the country - the Firebirds romped to a ninth straight victory, against the Tactix, on Sunday night and look on track to make a fourth straight ANZ Championship grand final. Female athletes are demanding more attention and finally seem to be getting it.
3. The streak is over
FULL TIME: @LabradorFC 17.10.112 defeat @MorningsideFC 10.11.71. Labrador are the first team to beat Morningside in 25 games. #QLDfooty— QAFL (@QAFLnews) May 24, 2015
A long-running winning streak was ended on Sunday in local footy. Reigning Queensland Australian Football League premiers, Morningside, lost their first match since 2013 against Labrador. The Tigers, boasting Josh Fraser and Matthew Lappin - you may have heard of them - dominated the Panthers.
The bad
1. Origin period NRL
If you needed an advertisement for a standalone Origin period, Saturday night's Cowboys-Tigers match. 2-0 until about the last minute when the Cowboys scored a try. When 34 of the best players in the competition are out of their club sides the NRL is seriously compromised. It's cannibalistic and there is surely a better solution than what we have now.
2. Third-quarter killers
Both Queensland AFL teams were opened up after half-time this weekend. Essendon kicked seven on the Lions in the 'premiership quarter' to their two, while the Pies kicked five unanswered goals against the Suns on Saturday evening. Both teams tried to fight it out but disappointing latter halves knocked the stuffing out of them.
3. James O'Connor's shank
I promise this is the last time we will play this. O'Connor was by no means the only or even the worst offender in the Reds' loss to the Sharks but this lowlight was a microcosm of the Reds' basic errors. The fullback/winger worked hard all night and lifted after the error, which seemed to hurt him as much as anyone else.
The weird
Footy banter
Football club twitter banter is a new phenomenon and while it misses as much as it hits, either outcome generally brings out the laughs. The banter between Essendon and Brisbane was a tad bizarre during the week but this exchange caught our attention during Sunday's match.
@brisbanelions Anyone wondered why you put the Paddle Pop Lion on your guernsey?— Essendon FC (@EssendonFC) May 24, 2015
