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Queenslanders endure drought. Cyclones. Floods.

So being a man down and trailing bitter rivals NSW late in a State of Origin game? No worries.

"A trait of Queenslanders is never give up," coach Billy Slater said after the Maroons' gripping 26-18 win in the Origin opener in Adelaide.

Slater conceded the task was tough, with his team two points down, a man in the sin bin, and only 10 minutes left.

But not too tough for a Queenslander.

"Queenslanders go through drought," Slater said.

"They go through cyclones. They go through floods. They go through a lot of adversity.

"And we try and represent our people in that way as well.

"I think that's what makes our people so proud of this footy team and that is why this footy team is such an inspiration for our people.

"That's what we try and do: we try and replicate the traits that Queenslanders have."

From their precarious position, the Queenslanders rallied with two tries in a tick over two glorious minutes.

Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow flew over 50 metres for his second of the game; then Lindsay Collins flew over James Tedesco for the most unlikely catch, laying off to Cameron Munster for the sealer.

"I don't like to focus on the scoreboard too much," Slater said.

"But with 10 minutes left in the game, you probably need to a little bit.

"We went after the game. And some players made some big plays, but the whole team had to get into position.

""We didn't play overly smart at times ... but I tell you what, there is a lot of guts and determination and courage in this footy team.

"This is an almighty win."

And it leaves an almighty task for NSW and their coach Brad Fittler to save the series.

Game two is in Brisbane on June 21. No NSW side, from one-down, has gone to the Queensland capital, squared the series, and then won it.

"Nothing is impossible," Fittler said.

"It's obviously very tough.

"But it is what it is. We need to regroup and be better, we have got to be better.

"But that's the challenge ahead. Can't avoid it."

Fittler was bewildered why the Blues, in his words, "went backwards" in the last 10 minutes in Adelaide.

"We got to the front. Got to a restart," he said.

"And then from there it just went downhill ... the last 10 minutes, we didn't handle it very well at all, especially when they were down to 12 (men).

"And I will go back and look at how that all happened ... but it felt like we had enough opportunities to adapt."

© AAP 2023

A homicide investigation has been launched after police found a three-year-old boy dead from stab wounds and a man critically injured at a unit in Sydney's southwest.

Emergency services attended the unit complex on Washington Avenue, Riverwood, about 4pm on Wednesday.

Police located the dead child and a 45-year-old man with serious injuries after responding to concerns for their welfare.

Multiple media outlets reported the man's wounds were self-inflicted.

He was treated at the scene by paramedics and taken to hospital in a critical condition under police escort.

Superintendent Sheridan Waldau said the attack on the child appeared to be a "horrific" domestic violence-related incident.

"Any kind of incident involving a small child is always a tragic incident and our condolences go out to the family of the child," she said.

Supt Waldau said police believed the mother of the child died a few years ago and the child was living with the man.

The unit was the home of a female relative, who called police with her concerns, she said.

Supt Waldau said the 45-year-old man had undergone surgery and was now in a stable condition, and the homicide squad had been called in to work on the investigation.

"Police attend domestic violence incidents all the time, we attend 140,000 incidents every year, and unfortunately some of them end up in homicides," she said.

Anyone with information about the incident has been urged to contact police or Crime Stoppers.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

Lifeline 13 11 14

beyondblue 1300 22 4636

© AAP 2023

The author of the report that sparked the Hawthorn racism saga has questioned the end of the AFL-commissioned inquiry into the claims, saying it defies logic.

The controversy is now headed to the Australian Human Rights Commission and probably the courts as at least three separate complainants consider their options.

The Hawks are also in negotiations with the league, which has signalled it could punish the club over how they initially handled the bombshell claims against Alastair Clarkson, Chris Fagan and Jason Burt.

Former AFL player Phil Egan, whose company Binmada compiled the report about claims of historic racism at Hawthorn, questioned Tuesday night's announcement that the AFL had wound up the independent inquiry into the racism claims, with no adverse findings made.

"It sort of defies logic a bit how they can come to no adverse findings, or no findings at all," Egan told the Seven Network.

"It asks the question - what did they do for the eight months?"

Lawyers for "Amy", one of the complainants, also made it clear what they thought of the decision.

"The more accurate statement would be that no findings have been made at all," Marque Lawyers tweeted.

Fagan issued a strongly worded statement that made it clear the saga still had a long way to run, saying he would welcome the chance for his conduct to be tested in a public court.

Apart from the seriousness of the claims - including an Indigenous former Hawthorn player was told to encourage his then-partner to have an abortion - there are at least three separate legal firms representing various complainants.

The four complainants who had involvement with the now-closed inquiry are represented by Leon Zwier at legal firm Arnold Bloch Liebler. He is understood to be taking their grievances to the Australian Human Rights Commission, now that the inquiry is finished.

Marque represents "Amy", who made it clear through them last November she would have no involvement with the inquiry. She is the woman who claims her then-partner was told to encourage her to end her pregnancy.

Judy Courtin represents "Zac" and "Jacqui". Courtin issued a statement strongly rebutting Burt's comments when the former Hawthorn welfare manager gave his version of events on Saturday in a media interview.

All the complainants remain anonymous.

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan apologised at Tuesday night's announcement and conceded ending the stalled inquiry was an "imperfect solution."

He also acknowledged the massive toll the saga had taken on everyone involved.

Amy, Zac and Jacqui's statements through their lawyers have laid bare the rawness of their emotions over the claims.

Fagan's statement pulled no punches as the current Brisbane coach labelled the process a farce, while Clarkson remains on indefinite leave from coaching North Melbourne because of the toll it has taken on him.

Burt, who now works at a Melbourne school, also spoke of his anger in the interview.

Clarkson, the four-time Hawthorn premiership coach, had Fagan as one of his key deputies at the club when the alleged mistreatment happened between 2010-16.

All three men strenuously deny the allegations against them.

Meanwhile, current Hawks president Andy Gowers and his predecessor Jeff Kennett have urged the AFL not to take any action against the club over how it handled the initial Binmada report.

McLachlan said the way Hawthorn handled the process when initial allegations were made put many parties involved in a "hugely vulnerable situation".

Jeff Kennett questioned "on what basis" the Hawks could be charged by the AFL and said on Wednesday he had written to the AFL Commission, asking them to finalise the process quickly.

Gowers also said there are "a number of discussions" ongoing with the league.

After eight months of the inquiry making minimal progress, events moved quickly on Tuesday and the AFL called a snap media conference that evening to announce the end of the investigation.

The Hawks saga started last year after former Indigenous star Cyril Rioli and his wife Shannyn Ah Sam-Rioli publicly claimed they were treated poorly during their time at the club.

That prompted a Hawthorn review of current and former Indigenous players, which led to the bombshell racism claims being leaked to the media last September.

Egan and Gowers said on Wednesday the leak did not come from within their organisations.

Also on Wednesday, the AFL Players Association issued a statement saying the AFL's investigation process was flawed because it was "not truly independent" of the league.

© AAP 2023