NSW have been dealt a major blow in the State of Origin series opener, with Queensland racing away to a 38-10 victory on Wednesday night at Accor Stadium.
A frenetic start saw Ben Hunt dart over from close range, but the game was truly turned on its head in the seventh minute when Blues debutant Joseph Suaalii was sent off.
The centre left his feet and collected Maroons fullback Reece Walsh in the head, with referee Ashley Klein giving the Roosters superstar his marching orders and now facing at least a month on the sidelines.
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The decision left the hosts a man short for almost the entire game and despite some shaky moments, Queensland showed their class and capitalised on the man advantage, which will no doubt divide opinion and land Suaalii in hot water at the judiciary.
Joseph Suaalii Getty
Here’s what was said about Suaalii’s moment of madness.
Andrew Johns
“At club land? Yes [that’s a send off] … but it’s a shame.
“I’m really surprised they sent Joseph Suaalii off.”
Phil Gould
“Their worst nightmare came true.
“The send off was unfortunate, but I thought NSW reacted poorly to it. I thought NSW were gallant – but they weren’t smart with their football. They’ve got a lot of work to do.
“The signs were there before they went down to 12 men.”
Paul Vautin
“Suaalii thinks he is gonna hit him in the chest, but Reece Walsh ducks down – it’s reckless and careless, but it’s not intentional.
“I don’t think it’s a send off. Ashley Klein looked down and saw Reece snoring, so he straight away thought it was a send off.
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Jake Trbojevic
“It was a tough night, not too much went to plan. “It was a tough one, I didn’t expect him to get sent off because of the enormity of the game.
“There was a period there where the boys showed a lot of fight. … Oh well, there’s a couple of games to go.”
Brad Fittler
“The game has had to take a step to look after the players safety. I feel so sorry for Joseph, he plays the game aggressive … but to see Walsh lying there, it’s a send off.
“It’s so hard to defend, but those first couple of tries with 12 men came from missed tackles, not from a lack of numbers. I don’t think at any stage we looked organised.”
Billy Slater
“You probably don’t want to know my thoughts on that. I have no idea … I’ll keep my feelings about that to myself.
“He [Walsh] seems to be OK now, he didn’t look too good on the field obviously. He seems to be OK in the sheds.”
Michael Maguire
“I think earlier on in the year, he [Walsh] ended up with a broken jaw and there was no send off. It’s a big call at this level – he was falling. It’s a massive call for a game like this.
“I’d imagine he [Suaalii] has got a fair bit of emotion rolling around at the moment – but we get around him, that’s what we do … we now look after our own. You never plan for having a bloke off – it was a line call, honestly. It’s disappointing to see him get sent off.”