- May and Sua’ali’i are Roosters teammates
- The Club has revealed whether Sua’ali’i will accept a long ban
- Broke Origin record when sent off for punching Walsh
Terrell May has responded to Roosters teammate Joseph Sua’ali’i’s sincere apology to Reece Walsh for his shocking Origin tackle by writing ‘HIS DEAD’ on the Blues star’s Instagram post.
Sua’ali’i broke the State of Origin record for fastest sending off when he was sent off the field just seven minutes into Wednesday night’s match after leveling Walsh by shoulder-hitting his jaw.
The Maroons defender was knocked unconscious by the blow and his left hand contorted in distressing scenes immediately after the hit.
While many of Sua’ali’i Blues and Roosters teammates supported him after he apologized for smashing Reece Walsh, Terrell May (pictured playing for the Roosters in March) decided to leave a shocking comment on Instagram .
Sua’ali’i knocked Walsh out with the sickening punch (pictured) and was sent off, paving the way for Queensland’s easy 38-10 win over the Blues on Wednesday night.
When a football fan responded to May’s comment (pictured), the striker responded by writing “have fun at work lol.”
On Thursday, Sua’ali’i took to Instagram to apologize for punching Walsh and when he confronted the media outside the NSW team hotel.
“Mixed emotions,” he wrote on social media.
‘Disappointed, I let my brothers, my family and the state fall. Blessed and honored to wear the blue jersey. #311.
“To the next one.”
May then commented “HE’S DEAD”, and when a football fan responded with “dryy”, the Roosters striker responded with “have fun at work lol”.
Sua’ali’i’s other teammates from the Blues and Roosters were much more supportive.
Nathan Cleary wrote “See you next time my brother!”, Spencer Leniu left a blue heart emoji, as did Josh Addo-Carr and Payne Haas, who also wrote “I love you.”
Stephen Crichton commented “That’s my brother”, Brian To’o commented “With you boss” and Joey Manu chimed in with “My brother”.
Sua’ali’i’s immediate Origin career appears to be over after he accepted a four-match suspension for the tackle of Walsh on Friday.
Sua’ali’i set a record for the fastest sending off in Origin history when he was sent off the field after just seven minutes of action (pictured)
Walsh recovered after being knocked unconscious by the tackle (pictured), and Sua’ali’i has now accepted a four-week suspension for the shooting.
The Roosters confirmed on Friday morning that the 20-year-old center had entered an early guilty plea, meaning he will miss NRL games between rounds 15 and 18 and will not be available for Origin until the third game.
The Roosters could apply to count the second Origin game towards Suaalii’s suspension, but selection rules would still force him to miss the club match that preceded the second game.
Suaalii would be available for selection in the third match of the series on July 17, but appears unlikely to be selected given his lack of competitive football in the lead-up to that match.
He would have risked a five-game suspension if he had taken his charge to the NRL judiciary.
Given that he will switch codes to play rugby from 2025 and has not committed to returning to the NRL, Suaalii’s Origin future is cloudy after just seven minutes of play on his debut.
Latrell Mitchell and Matt Burton look the leading candidates to replace Suaalii in the centers as NSW battle to keep the series alive in Melbourne later this month.
The Roosters are off this weekend, but Fetalaiga Pauga looks the safest option to take Suaalii’s place in the backline for Round 15, with Billy Smith remaining out with an ankle problem.
