He may have just landed the final nail in Mitchell Pearce's State of Origin career, but Queensland forward Dylan Napa has told critics to back off his NRL teammate.
Pearce's future as the NSW halfback will again come under intense scrutiny after Queensland claimed the Origin shield with a comprehensive 22-6 win on Wednesday night.
The Blues No.7 played behind a badly beaten forward pack but twice spurned good-ball sets with turnovers, the second of which almost ended in a Tim Glasby runaway try.
His first error was an ill-timed pass into an unprepared Boyd Cordner.
Pearce was also at fault for a poor defensive read that allowed Maroons rookie Cameron Munster to set up a Valentine Holmes try, and his kicking was largely ineffective.
He finished with a game-high 430 kick metres but most often committed the cardinal sin of finding the dangerous Billy Slater on the full.
He also missed four of his 24 tackles, and his 16 metres off three runs was only more than Maroons substitute Ben Hunt - who played just nine minutes.
NSW coach Laurie Daley defended Pearce's performance after the match.
"I thought he was good, I thought he contributed, did his job. Again, people will have their own opinions on Mitch but he did his job," Daley said.
Pearce's Sydney Roosters teammate Napa was also quick to stand up for the maligned playmaker, who has now lost all seven of his Origin series against the Maroons.
"The way the media treat him is ridiculous," Napa said.
"He's such an easy bloke to put the blame on. I thought he's had a really good series. He didn't kick any out on the full, he made his tackles.
"When we get back to clubland, I'll be there to support him."
POSSIBLE HALFBACK OPTIONS FOR NSW IN 2018
Mitchell Pearce - 12 try assists, 18 line break assists in 2017
Nathan Cleary - Eight try assists, seven line break assists
Matt Moylan - Nine try assists, 19 line break assists
Aidan Sezer - 14 try assists, nine line break assists
Chad Townsend - Seven try assists, five line break assists
Adam Reynolds - 12 try assists, eight line break assists
Luke Brooks - Five try assists, five line break assists
Luke Keary - 19 try assists, 24 line break assists
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