Ref got it wrong on Gallen: Harrigan Bringing the biff: Blues skipper Paul Gallen lands one flush on the chin of Maroons forward Nate Myles but remained on the field to lead NSW to victory in game one on Wednesday night. Former referees boss Bill Harrigan believes Paul Gallen should have been sin-binned for his attack on Nate Myles, claiming the incident worse than the one that sidelined Michael Jennings for 10 minutes last year. Gallen unloaded a series of blows on Myles just before half-time, and was handed a grade two striking charge by the match review committee. Myles had no problem with Gallen remaining on the field, saying: "How good is it? However, Harrigan, who oversaw a record 21 Origins during his career as a whistleblower, said referee Ashley Klein should have sent Gallen for a spell. "He should have been put in the sin bin," Harrigan said. When you look at last year, Jennings was put in the sin bin, and this was worse and he stayed on the paddock. Myles plays hard and pushes the boundaries sometimes; he's been penalised for doing silly things in play the balls and in the rucks. But you can't just walk up, put two on his chin and say, 'That's for all the other games over the last couple of years.' That crossed the line. I like 'Gal', I like the way he plays hard the same way that Nate Myles does. There's a line that can be pushed, and it's a bit greyer for Origin, but when the line is crossed the referees have got to [act]. [Referee Matt] Cecchin showed that last year when he got rid of Jennings for running in. I felt Ashley Klein needed to do that. Jennings' sin-binning, for running in and fighting during the opening game of last year's series, proved a crucial moment. The Blues conceded a try in his absence as the momentum swung in favour of the Maroons. In allowing Gallen to stay on, Harrigan believes it set a dangerous precedent for the remainder of the match and the series. "If Nate Myles came out in the second half looking for a get-square, with that precedent he would be entitled to walk up to Gallen and go snot-snot and say, 'You can penalise me, but you can't sin bin me,' " Harrigan said. I don't think it was a send-off but he should have been binned. Queensland coach Mal Meninga said he was happy for the matter to remain on the field during his post-match press conference but changed his tune on Thursday. Upon reflection, Meninga said there was "no place" for thuggery and that the sin bin should have been used. Harrigan said the pressure appeared to get to Klein in his Origin debut and at least two penalties he awarded shouldn't have been. "I thought Ashley Klein's 10 metres on debut was very erratic; he kept them back anything from seven metres to 13 metres," Harrigan said.