Queensland players say NSW hooker Michael Ennis will live to regret the brain-explosion that saw him throw punches at Nate Myles and gift the Maroons with a chance to clinch a 3-0 series victory.

In the 73rd minute with the Blues up 18-13, Ennis got up after some niggle on the ground to whack Myles twice square in the face.

Maroons front rower David Shillington rushed in to defend Myles, who was left stranded on his knees after Ennis' double-hit.

But after the dust settled, Queensland were given the penalty which put them deep on the attack.

Two tackles later, Billy Slater broke through for an explosive match-winner.

"He's probably kicking stones at the moment," quipped Johnathan Thurston.

Shillington said Ennis helped Queensland secure their sweep of the series.

"Yeah probably. I think all the boys fired up and played a bit more passionately and we started running through them and scoring tries, so we can probably thank him for that," Shillington said.

"...Michael Ennis just seemed to start throwing them and I thought that was a bit unfair.

"I don't know what he was thinking but all I knew was I had to go and protect my mate and make sure he didn't get hurt badly."

Shillington suggested the Blues might need to adopt some new tactics next year, after bringing back the biff again backfired on them.

"Yeah they'll probably try something different next year I think," he said.

"They tried to put us off our game a fair bit with all their dirty tactics but it doesn't seem to work for them very well."

Myles has had a couple of run ins with Ennis already this year, including one dust-up from the kick-off when the Roosters played the Bulldogs in round three.

However, the Maroons hard-man denied he and Ennis have a personal hatred for each other, and even admitted the penalty could have gone the other way after Myles elbowed his opponent on the ground.

"I just didn't agree with something he did, so I reacted and he reacted so it's just one of them things, it's part of Origin," he said.

"We did score after that, but I'm not saying it's his fault. The penalty could have gone against me as well.

"He got a couple on me. I've got a swollen lip, a blood nose and a big bulge on my massive forehead already, so what do you do?

"The first incident in club football got totally blown out of proportion by someone who doesn't know what happened, a silly rumour from the outside. It's Origin football, everyone's got a rivalry out there and there's nothing between me and Mick."

Ennis expressed surprise after the game that he was penalised.

"I was actually - it's done now, I'm not going to kick up a stink and (make) a media circus over it, it's what happens in footy," Ennis said.

"Once again the referees made their decision against me."

Although it was clear Ennis was provoked by Myles, Queensland squad member Ben Hannant said his Canterbury club-mate will probably learn a lesson in self-restraint from the incident.

"I guess that's a crucial time of the match where discipline was needed, and I'm sure he'd be disappointed in what happened and it's something he can learn from," Hannant said.

"Origin brings up a lot of different emotions and you've got a choice to make, what you're going to do, and he'll learn from it."

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