You would think every story that could be conceived about State of Origin had already been written. It's been almost half a century since Arthur Beetson led the Maroons out in 1980, and we've seen everything from epic comebacks, blow out wins, masterclasses from star players, and nightmare debuts.
And while it was certainly the latter for Joseph Suaali'i, it was a fresh twist on a well-worn tale.
There can be no doubt that the Blues had gone out with a game plan to rough Reece Walsh up - as evidenced from his first clearing kick when he was sent tumbling to the ground after striking the ball.
But whatever plan was in place likely did not extend to what Suaali'i did, and while it was very much a tackle gone wrong, there can be no argument as to the force and damage.
It was immediately obvious how bad it was. The most telling sign being that as Walsh lay in pain on the turf, several Queensland players didn't bother to join the attack on the linebreak that had happened immediately afterwards, instead staying next to their fullback to check on his welfare.
A popular opinion in the stadium and online in the immediate aftermath was that the send off 'ruined the game'. After all, not even the most devout member of the Church of Blatchy gave New South Wales a chance after the seventh minute.
But if you want to blame someone for ruining the game, blame the player. While there have only been a handful of send offs in Origin history, this was as bad a tackle as you'll see in the modern game. Parroting the phrase 'it's Origin' isn't an acceptable excuse for almost decapitating someone.
And yet, there was plenty of shock when Ashley Klein's finger pointed to the sideline, even from me. Why? Because it's Origin!
And more importantly, the game clock was still in single digits. A send off early in a game is rare in the NRL, and unheard of at this level - and the officials should be praised for their courage to make the right call, even if it meant the game's biggest ratings winner being turned into a one-way fight.
It's difficult to try and rationalise such a chaotic 80 minutes. As is the case with every Blues loss, people will quickly look for a pariah. But other than Suaali'i, who can or should the finger be pointed at? Origin is already as tough as it gets for any player, even before you crank the difficulty sliders up as far as they go by having to play with 12 men for almost the entire match.
For a moment, it looked like a backs against the wall job could be on. A superb kick from Jarome Luai to a perfectly-positioned James Tedesco and some noise was injected into the 77,000-strong crowd which had, after the early Ben Hunt try and the send off, felt more reminiscent of a meandering mid-year clash between two mediocre NRL clubs.
Then after Zac Lomax's try and Val Holmes' error a minute later, there was another glimmer - but it was short lived and snuffed out with two breakaway tries. Many Blues fans, having had their fill of Ben Hunt four-pointers, had shuffled out before Daly Cherry-Evans magic assist to Xavier Coates.
Defensively, Hynes was on an island with no centre help (until Stephen Crichton was swapped to the other side of the field) so take that with a grain of salt. But his kicking game was mostly poor bar the Lomax try, and the Blues showed minimal organisation even when they did have good ball. It will no doubt be a position of contention for the second game.
But the worry is that the send off will give the Blues no cause to ring changes. No lessons were learned from last year's Damien Cook incident, and again NSW were left shuffling forwards around the wide positions. Why not Matt Burton, a premiership-winning centre, on the bench?
When you factor in that the quartet of Hudson Young, Haumole Olakau'atu, Spencer Leniu and captain Jake Trbojevic all played less than half an hour, it makes the choice not to carry a utility all the more baffling.
But what now? Hynes' position will certainly be up for debate, especially with Mitchell Moses returning to the NRL and playing brilliantly last week. Tedesco started well but was out of position for Cherry-Evans' 40/20 and badly missed a one-on-one on Hunt's second try. There is every chance his hero's return to the sky blue was a one-off.
How else the team changes is up to Maguire, and it's a mountain to climb to try and win the series now. You would imagine it won't be as heavy a bench again, and you can be certain Suaali'i won't be there.