- The Broncos star was knocked out in the sixth minute
- Sua’ali’i immediately received orders to march
- Blues struggle to keep pace with 12-man Queensland
He may be one of the NRL’s biggest superstars, but Reece Walsh is a father first, which was on full display in heartwarming scenes in State of Origin I on Wednesday night.
Sydney Roosters star and Wallabies signing Joseph Sua’ali’i was sent off for a horror tackle on the Maroons defender early in the Origin clash at Accor Stadium on Wednesday night.
In terrifying scenes, Walsh was left knocked out on the field for several minutes before he was able to stumble off the field while being assisted by trainers.
His daughter Leila was watching from the stands and would have been terrified to see her father in that condition.
Joseph Sua’ali’i’s blow that knocked out Reece Walsh and led to the expulsion of the Blues winger by referee Ashley Klein
Walsh jumped over the fence to find his daughter and give her a big hug to let her know she’s okay.
But in heartwarming scenes, Walsh made it a priority to find Leila and give her a huge hug, letting her know she was okay.
The incident occurred in the sixth minute of the match and play continued as Walsh lay unconscious on the grass until referee Ashley Klein finally stopped play.
He refused to allow the Roosters winger to protest his innocence and sent him straight to the sheds to become the sixth Blues player in history to be sent off in an Origin clash.
Walsh was graded with a Category 1 head injury on the field, so although he later passed his head injury evaluation, he was not allowed to return for the remainder of the game.
Walsh is treated by a Queensland trainer after being knocked unconscious in Origin I
Joseph Sua’ali’i was sent off by referee Ashley Klein for the ugly high tackle on Walsh.
When Channel Nine approached Queensland coach Billy Slater and asked his reaction to the hit on a thunder-faced Walsh, he fumed: “You probably don’t want to know that.”
“Hindsight is a great thing, isn’t it?” Slater then said when he was asked about bringing Selwyn Cobbo to the bench to replace Walsh in the backline.
“He is a quality player and plays in that position regularly, just like Hammer.
“Nothing changes for us,” he replied when asked what it meant for Queensland that New South Wales was reduced to 12 men.
“We just want to get our football going, get on with our game.” This kind of thing can happen.’
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