Queensland and NSW were left down a man in the second half of Origin II after a melee broke out following a big Spencer Leniu hit with Liam Martin and Patrick Carrigan binned.
Leniu's tackle on Jaydn Su'A forced a knock on with plenty of blue jerseys coming in to celebrate.
Things then got heated as both sides rushed in.
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"If you want the promotion for game three then here it is, play one look at the hit here from Spencer Leniu and Liam Martin and then they push and there's an error," Blues legend Andrew Johns said on Nine.
The melee came immediately after a similar incident when Stephen Crichton was penalised for a grapple tackle on Daly Cherry-Evans.
Referee Ashley Klein warned captains Cherry-Evans and Isaah Yeo that players would be binned if it happened again.
"Don't send anyone to the bin," Johns said as Klein consulted with the Bunker.
"I don't know what's happened here … let's just play footy boys," Maroons great Cameron Smith added.
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NSW's instigator was identified as Martin with Klein saying he started it "by rubbing the head" of Su'A.
Martin reacted by rolling his eyes and laughing.
"So Liam went for rubbing the head when we've seen grapples, we've seen picking up and dumping, we've seen Latrell chin someone but you rub someone's head and you get sin binned," Johns laughed.
Smith was equally as amused.
"Sin binned for that? Come on," he said.
Carrigan was then given his marching orders for running in.
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