What NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet was really doing when snapped leaving State of Origin early

Queensland and New South Wales produced one of the great State of Origin games on Wednesday night, so eyebrows were raised when Dominic Perrottet was seemingly pictured leaving with the match still in the balance for the Blues.

 The NSW premier was spotted dashing out an exit at Suncorp Stadium with 15 minutes to go in Queensland’s 22-12 win that sealed a second series winner in the three years for the Maroons. 

Perrottet, who proudly wore No.1 on his jersey, was pictured leaving his seat alongside former Blues and Kangaroos great Wayne Pearce, who is now a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission.

As the final whistle approached, the pair left the corporate box area to get closer to the ground, where the Premier later did a post-match interview

New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet is seen leaving an exit at State of Origin decider before moving closer to the ground

 Earlier on Wednesday night, the NSW premier was pictured walking down Brisbane’s Caxton Street wearing his Blues jersey alongside his Queensland counterpart Annastacia Palaszczuk.

Perrottet left the corporate area shortly after Kalyn Ponga scored his first Origin try to put the Maroons 16-12 ahead with 20 minutes left of an absolutely blistering second half.

After a spell of sustained Queensland pressure, the Maroons fullback received a bullet pass from Daly Cherry-Evans 10 metres out from the Blues try line, before stepping away from a tackle and breaking another to score.

Valentine Holmes converted the try to give Queensland a four-point lead they would not relinquish as Ben Hunt intercepted Nathan Cleary’s chip attempted before running the length of the field to score with two minutes left.

The NSW premier was pictured walking down Brisbane’s Caxton Street wearing his Blues jersey alongside his Queensland counterpart Annastacia Palaszczuk ahead of the game

The two premiers shared a drink together before the state of Origin decider 

It was a familiar story for the Maroons, who once again embraced the role of the underdog and defied the odds. 

Shellacked in Game 2 and without star five-eight Cameron Munster due to a positive Covid-19 test, Queensland lost Selwyn Cobbo and Lindsay Collins to head knocks in the opening exchanges and trailed 12-10 at the break.

But they dug deep and found the strength to come back in the second half, dominating New South Wales for the best part of 40 minutes to secure a win that will go down in Maroons folklore.