Gallen attacked over Myles punch by Origin great Paul Gallen's pummelling of Nate Myles in the first Origin match has been branded a "bit of a dog act" by Maroons great Steve Renouf, who said his behaviour sets an atrocious example for youngsters who aim to emulate their heroes in weekend matches. Nate Myles was standing there, and bang bang. You just don't do that, you know? If he was shaping up and having a shot, have a shot. But he wasn't. Renowned former NRL referee Bill Harrigan has also lambasted the NSW skipper for landing what he called two "unprovoked" blows on Myles in the dying moments of the first half, saying the referee immediately should have sin-binned Gallen for such a savage attack. Swing and a hit: Paul Gallen scraps with Nate Myles. But others have applauded Gallen for letting fly with his fists in what has become one of the most controversial moments in recent State of Origin history. Debutant NSW coach Laurie Daley praised Gallen for his brave stand against Myles, who has been accused of serial "headbutting" in his tackling style. "It's a great Origin moment, as far as I'm concerned," Daley said. Taking aim: Paul Gallen. A bruised and battered Nate Myles also brushed off the incident, saying he didn't even want Gallen charged. No, not at all. I don't think he should get charged. That's just the way it goes," Myles said. To be honest I'd leave it on the field. He got a couple of good ones on me but the fortunate thing is we get to do it again. "Dog act": Steve Renouf has hit out at Nate Myles. But questions have been raised about what sort of example Gallen, and the response from the referees, has set for younger players. Renouf, the Brisbane Broncos great who played 11 Origin games for Queensland in the 1990s, said he was watching the game on Wednesday night with his children, aged 12 and 14, when the attack occurred. "As a man-to-man thing, I know that sort of stuff can happen, but it's a bit of a dog act really," Renouf said. Hitting out: Paul Gallen swings at Nate Myles. The reaction from the referee was just as disappointing, he said, and young players may think they could do the same thing without repercussions in weekend matches. While Gallen earned a grade two striking charge for his actions and NSW was penalised, Renouf said the referee should have gone further. Origin great: Steve Renouf is tackled by Andrew Ettingshausen in May 1998. Photo: Craig Golding "Thousands of kids are watching that match," he said. You see that on the weekend. You see certain kids and certain young teams doing that [acting violently on the field] and the funny thing is, it shows how society's changing, some parents are encouraging it. I just think really the ref didn't have any reaction to it or any discipline on the spot, really. He was given a penalty. But that was two king hits, possibly three. Really there was just nothing, there wasn't even a dressing down. Harrigan told ABC Radio on Thursday that referees tolerated a bit of a "softening-up period" at the start of Origin matches, including some pushing and shoving. Someone throws a punch, someone throws a punch back, there's nothing untoward, no one gets hurt. We like to see that. That part's the softening-up period," he said. But he said Gallen's punches on Myles, who did not fight back, crossed a line. The referees should immediately have sin-binned him, Harrigan said. "When the referee called him back again I thought 'Hello, here he is, he's going to have the intestinal fortitude to sin bin this bloke in a big game, this is terrific, strong refereeing'," Harrigan said. And then he turned around and said 'We're not going to tolerate that'. Well poo hoo. Nate Myles didn't have his hands up ready to fight or anything. Nate Myles was standing there looking at him, and he just unloaded with those two shots. You just can't do that. Daley believes the match review committee overreacted by charging Gallen. "I thought it was tough, yeah," Daley said on Thursday morning. I didn't think there was too much in it. As I said before, it's Origin. I think if you asked Queensland they would say the same thing. For us, I've got no qualms. It's a different game. Poll: What do you think of Paul Gallen's attack on Nate Myles? Outrageous: should have been sin-binned at least Bit over the top Nothing wrong with it: all part of the game Total votes: 5457. Poll closes in 21 hours. Vote now: State of Origin 2013 - winner