Referee Gerard Sutton will control his 18th consecutive Origin match despite a time keeping incident which left many fans puzzled after Game 1.
Sutton in the series opener called fulltime before the siren at the ground sounded while the Channel Nine broadcast clock showed two seconds remaining as the Blues were pushing for a last gasp try before Queensland ultimately hung on for the win.
Blues captain Boyd Cordner even questioned Sutton as to why he didn't allow one final play, while an NRL spokesman revealed the referee had called time from the match-day coach in his ear.
"The referee gets a 10-second countdown from the match-day coach in their ear at the end of every half, based off the time-keeper," an NRL spokesman told the Sydney Morning Herald.
"The referee calls full-time off that, not the siren or the scoreboard timer."
The NRL on Friday confirmed Sutton would remain as the man in control for next Wednesday's Game 2.
"The Referees Appointments Committee felt the officials deserve the opportunity to take charge of the second match," NRL Head of Football Graham Annesley said.
"The appointment committee reviewed all aspects of the opening match very closely, and despite some public commentary about time keeping, the review found the referee was correct."
FULL LIST OF MATCH OFFICIALS:
Referee: Gerard Sutton
Review Official: Steve Chiddy
Touch Judges: Chris Butler and Todd Smith
Standby Referee: Ashley Klein
Standby Touch Judge: David Munro
from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/nrl-confirms-gerard-sutton-will-referee-origin-game-2/4555f1fb-2fab-450f-add4-3cfe7b242203
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