It was just on a year and a half ago that the undesirable elements at the club forced the hand of the Penns and led them straight to the office of Todd Greenberg. The heaving Eagles dressing rooms were the talk of the NRL – it was a place where people with all kinds of vices gathered. And the Penn family had enough. They told Greenberg and have worked hard on their governance since.

Now chairman Scott Penn has broken his silence and the message is clear: anyone involved in dodgy behaviour relating to betting can tell their story walking. After a bombshell was dropped on Thursday and after 72 hours of speculation, the Sea Eagles have requested the NSW Organised Crime Squad come forward with information in order to bring the matter to a speedy conclusion. In other words, put up or shut up.

Penn said: "The constant speculation and innuendo which has fuelled the media over the past 72 hours has to stop. We need to bring this matter to a head. If the NSW Organised Crime Squad have information concerning our players, we ask them to come forward and discuss it with us directly.

"To date we have had no contact from the authorities. It is not fair on our players to hang a cloud of doubt over their heads, nor is it acceptable to our proud club to have our brand tarnished over media speculation.

"Our players are aware of their obligations to the club and the community, with our code of conduct being constantly reinforced.

"If any of our players have stepped outside of the code of conduct they will be dealt with by the full force of the club, the NRL and, if relevant, the law. We will deal with the issue as required based on fact.

"We will co-operate fully with any investigation and do whatever is necessary to bring this matter to a speedy conclusion so our playing group can get on with their season.

"We have a proud history, celebrating our 70th year this year. Our greatest disappointment is that our great club is being affected by serious allegations without any opportunity to defend ourselves. Clearly it is time for the authorities to come forward with the facts so we can resolve it once and for all."

Josh's big blue

There has been no better moment that sums up what Josh Morris is about and what State of Origin is about than his heroic chase of Greg Inglis in 2014.

In the hands of the trainer, Morris saw Inglis tearing through a gap, so he pushed the trainer aside, got up and chased Inglis down. It was a classic Origin moment. And it was why at his lowest moment his teammates gathered around him.

After the Blues' loss on Wednesday night Morris was more downcast than his teammates. His fumble from a tap restart was haunting him. "It's probably the most embarrassing moment of my career," he said. "I've done that so many times in my career and that hasn't happened before. The way the team supported me was great. It means the world to me and the good thing with this team is that when anyone makes a mistake we usually make up for it in the next set."

Morris was at the centre of the most controversial moment of Origin one – the no try. He ran through his version of what happened from the moment Robbie Farah passed him the ball. "I wasn't expecting the pass to begin with," he recalled.

"When I got it I remember beating GI on the inside and then I got down low enough to get the ball to the ground. I then got pushed back. Fergo saw it was a try and the touch judge called it a try and then it went upstairs and got overturned.

"It's very frustrating. There were plenty of screen shots where you couldn't see the ball. I thought that I got the ball down and I thought that the benefit of the doubt went to the attacking team in those situations."

Down Trodden

Morris' late call-up for the Blues and the reaction from Bulldogs coach Des Hasler received plenty of airplay during the week. But his private reaction was priceless. The ears of NSWRL boss Dave Trodden are still ringing from the spray that he copped from Hasler. A member of the Trodden family said the spray could be heard throughout the house.

We did a bit of digging and found out the Bulldogs were well aware of Des' feelings. On the team bus back from Canberra the players heard Des unleashing on someone. The assumption was it was someone at the NRL and it was related to referees – one of Des' pet topics. The words "betrayal" were used and it soon filtered back to the team that it was Trodden. The players love a Des spray – when it's not directed at them. And they enjoyed this one more than most.

Unhappy hooker

The fallout from the Gorden Tallis–Robbie Farah-Mick Potter situation two years ago is ongoing. And Farah has been the big victim out of the saga. Tallis and Farah were on good terms – good enough to have nights out and a drink until Tallis took a private conversation and made it public. It made a delicate situation at the Tigers even more difficult to manage and it made Farah look like a coach killer, something he doesn't deserve to be labelled.

The fallout for Farah is that he has been targeted by parts of the media, specifically the Monday Night with Matty Johns show, where Tallis is a regular.

Tallis doesn't take the shots – he sits there with a contented look on his face. Instead Farah is lampooned by the comedy writers and his character is brought into question.

Farah also cops it on radio Triple M, another employer of Tallis and Johns, and Farah refuses to appear on either program.

Farah tries to ignore the personal shots, but plenty of people tell him about them. It's known that Farah considers it bullying and there is a line of thinking that if it continues there will be legal action. Farah is arguably the Tigers' greatest hooker and is a star at Origin level.

He deserves considerably more respect than he is being afforded at the moment. When approached for a comment, Farah did not want to say anything about the issue. But it's clear he is angry about the matter.

Foot soldier

Boyd Cordner was red-eyed and looked like he'd shed a few tears after the Blues loss on Monday night. "No I wasn't crying, but it is an emotional roller coaster," he said. "It really hurts to lose at any time, but Origin is hard to take."

Straight after the game Cordner didn't mention the foot injury that will keep him out of Origin two in Brisbane, and that may have been why he looked so emotional. He can take some comfort from the fact that he picked up the players' player award for the Blues. My understanding is that Cordner's injury is potentially a very serious one. He has torn a ligament and has a badly broken bone in his toe.

If it requires surgery it has the potential to end his season. It's horrible luck for one of the most dedicated and talented forwards in the NRL. Let's hope the news is good for him in coming weeks. He certainly deserves it.

Walker's on – just

Blues players were not surprised in the slightest that Dylan Walker got next to no game time on Wednesday night. At training during the week Walker filled in all over the place, but given that Blues coach Laurie Daley had an interchange plan and some giants on the bench, who were able to play long minutes, Walker was always going to struggle to get on the field.

Gordon gains

The Roosters' interest in Michael Gordon is a further indication of the lack of satisfaction with Jackson Hastings. The thought is Gordon was being looked at for one reason: to allow Latrell Mitchell to move to the wing and give him some room to find his feet in the top grade with a view to being the club's long-term fullback. Gordon is also a goal kicker of note and if Hastings is off with the club, they need someone to kick.

As for Gordon's future, it appears to depend on how the Eels fare. Parramatta will want to hang on to him so long as they are even a slim hope of making the top eight. Once they are no chance then Gordon will go.

Ratings winner

There have been plenty of critics having a shot at the quality of Origin one. But what is certain is the viewers loved it. It was the highest-rating Origin ever. It peaked at just under 4.5 million nationally. The coverage was headed up by the ever-classy Yvonne Sampson.

Danny Weidler is a Nine reporter.