When an NRL supporter exposed her breasts to the camera during a live report for the State of Origin II, ABC viewers were treated to a different type of entertainment.
30 minutes before kickoff on Sunday night, ABC sports reporter Jessica Stewart was doing a live cross from Perth’s Optus Stadium when the incident happened.
As Stewart chatted with news anchor Gemma Veness about the atmosphere, the spectators, and the game itself, hundreds of NSW Blues and Queensland Maroons supporters could be seen following her.
A woman wearing a Maroons beanie and scarf could be spotted at one point following Stewart.
She proceeded to lift up her crop top and flashed the camera for a split second.
An NRL supporter exposed her breasts for the camera during a live report, giving ABC viewers a new type of show for the State of Origin II game.
The incident happened during a live broadcast by ABC sports reporter Jessica Stewart from Perth’s Optus Stadium on Sunday night, 30 minutes before kickoff.
Numerous NSW Blues and Queensland Maroons supporters could be seen following Stewart as she chatted with TV anchor Gemma Veness on the atmosphere, the crowd, and the actual game.
Stewart was briefly followed by a woman who was sporting a Maroons beanie and scarf.
Nathan Cleary inscribed his name in State of Origin folklore with a performance for the ages that left New South Wales legend Andrew Johns claiming the superstar halfback is a better player than he was at the same age.
Cleary, 24, put in an uncharacteristically muted performance for Brad Fittler’s side in Game I earlier this month, with Queensland five-eighth Cameron Munster running the show in Sydney.
The Panthers star came in for criticism, as a result, and he arrived in Perth with a point to prove in the Blues’ do-or-die clash at Optus Stadium.
And the great No. 7 proved without a shadow of a doubt that he is the finest halfback of his generation by assisting in two tries, scoring two of his own, and nailing a perfect eight from the tee to frustrate Queensland all day long on Sunday.
Rugby league hasn’t witnessed an individual effort that inspired since Johns’s masterful 2005 Origin performance, and the guy said it himself: Cleary is the best halfback at age 24.
No other halfback at his age has played in an Origin match like that, he claimed on Nine.
He added while the second half onslaught unfolded in front of him: ‘There was a lot of criticism after Game 1… only early in his rep career.
‘I think it was harsh. But he stewed on it. He has been exceptional. Cleary is putting on a masterclass.’
Phil Gould added that Cleary’s display was one of the great individual Origin performances of all time.
‘I think that second half tonight was one of the truly great halfback performances in Origin history,’ he said.
‘It ranks up there with the best of all time in what he did in that period. In the first half he was a little frantic and side-to-side and trying to find something. A grubber kick to Burton got a spark in him and all of a sudden he started to tear Queensland apart.’
New South Wales legend drew comparisons between Cleary’s ‘historical performance’ and that of Johns in 2005.
‘A historical individual performance,’ Michael Ennis said on Fox League.
‘I haven’t seen a more dominant individual performance from a New South Wales half since Andrew Johns in 2005… it was incredible from Nathan Cleary.’
Blues captain James Tedesco was also glowing in his praise for his teammate after Sunday’s impressive victory.
‘There was unwarranted criticism (of Cleary) after the first game. But it shows what a champion player he is,’ captain James Tedesco, who also praised Game Two call-ups Matt Burton and Jake Trobjevic, told the Nine Network.
‘He comes out in Game Two and puts on a clinic with a lot of pressure on him. He is one hell of a player.
‘It will be a test at Suncorp (Stadium). It will be packed. Queensland fans up against the wall. We will enjoy the win tonight and then look at the next game.’