Rugby League: The untold story of State of Origin's most shocking moment

Justin Poore's interaction with a prone Steve Price.

With one act in the final game of the 2009 State of Origin series, former New South Wales and Parramatta Eels prop Justin Poore became one of rugby league's greatest villains.

To those viewing in the stands at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium, seeing it transpire from afar on the pitch or on the broadcast, Poore took things too far.

After trading punches with Blues prop Brett White, Queensland prop Steve Price was caught on the chin and dropped as Blues second rower Trent Waterhouse came over to get involved. As the scuffle continued, Poore walked over to where Price lay, grabbed the lifeless prop by the collar before letting him fall back to the pitch.

However, speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Poore has recalled the incident and said things weren't as they seemed.

"I've seen Whitey hit Pricey – Pricey didn't put up a very good fight because he can't fight. He hit the ground and I've lived with this for a while… when I went over to him, he spoke to me. He called me 'f***ing this' or that. I went over there to tell him to stay there and he told me to 'f** off'. I grabbed him, said something back and dropped him back on the ground.

Steve Price receives treatment during the third game of the 2009 State of Origin series. Photo / Getty Images

"He's told everyone he was knocked out, that he didn't know what was going on. Between me and him, he knew exactly what was going on and I copped the brunt of things for a long time after that situation. From a player's point of view, it's been 10 years now, going through that at the time it was very hard.

"I was depicted as this absolute dog, Petero wrote in his book that it was the biggest dog act he'd ever seen in his life. I know deep down that Pricey knows what happened."

Price shared his own version of the encounter, telling the Sydney Morning Herald he wasn't impressed with how Poore acted.

"The only one I was disappointed with was the boy that when I was on the ground motionless looked at me then picked me up and dropped me. Justin Poore … that was poor, pardon the pun," he said.

It was one of the last moments of State of Origin violent chaos, as the three-match series has been regulated to not allow for bust ups over the past few years.