Reece Walsh ‘conspiracy theory’ erupts over horror Joseph Sua’ali’i hit

The act divided the rugby league world but the Maroons seem to believe there’s more to Joseph Sua’ali’i’s hit on Reece Walsh than meets the eye.

Queensland are not happy. Photo: Monique Harmer and Getty Images

As if State of Origin needed any more spice, a wild conspiracy theory is doing the rounds that Blues debutant Joseph Sua’ali’i took out Reece Walsh on purpose.

It took just seven minutes for the opening match of the series to erupt after Sua’ali’i’s poorly timed hit saw him become just the sixth player in State of Origin history to be sent off after his hit left the Queensland fullback unconscious for several minutes.

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Arguments erupted over whether it should have been a send off and whether there were mitigating factors, but Queensland immediately showed how they felt about the situation.

Assistant coach Nate Myles was warned by an NRL official after reportedly telling Sua’ali’i to “Enjoy your f**king debut.”

But while you almost expect it from a former hardman in the heat of the battle, Queensland head coach Billy Slater poured petrol on the fire in his press conference by saying as little as possible.

And the final straw came when Queensland legend Johnathan Thurston broke ranks to allege the Blues “clearly had a target on him”.

Thurston broke ranks. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Slater was fuming. Photo – Monique Harmer

Speaking on NRL 360 on Thursday, Fox League’s James Hooper revealed Maroons officials believed Walsh had been “specifically targeted”.

“There’s a conspiracy theory doing the rounds, and you can understand why considering what’s at stake,” Hooper said.

“It’s State of Origin, it’s as big as it gets but the Maroons are privately fuming.

“We saw Nate Myles have some timely words with Joseph as he left the field which was a cheeky sledge.

“Speaking to people today, there is a feeling among the Maroons that Walsh was specifically targeted and there’s some bad blood there.”

The Daily Telegraph’s Phil Rothfield didn’t buy it though, saying: “He was always going to be targeted” but argued: “Madge wouldn’t have asked for what we saw”.

But Maroons legend Gorden Tallis didn’t buy it.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

Rothfield replied: “I’m not sure”.

“It backfired in two ways, because he lost a player and ‘Hammer’ (Tabuai-Fidow) went to fullback and probably played better than Reece could have, so it did backfire,” he added.

It was ugly. Picture NRL Photos

Walsh was wiped out of the game. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Tallis also said he believed Slater could put himself in Walsh’s shoes as he would have been targeted in the same way during his career.

“I think Billy has been targeted through his career as a player and you’ve got to get to the good players, and Billy feels like it’s probably happened in his career,” he said.

“Now he’s watched this young kid burst onto the scene and the way they tried to defend him is the best way to defend him, but things can go wrong.”

Slater was fuming over the incident during and after the match.

During the match, Slater told Channel 9 when asked for his thoughts on the incident: “You probably don’t want to know that”.

In his press conference, he also kept his cards close to his chest, rebuffing several attempts from a reporter to get a straight answer, saying: “I’ll keep my feelings about that (tackle) to myself.”

He was then asked if he thought NSW had specifically targeted the Broncos star.

“I have no idea but I’ll keep my feelings about that to myself,” he replied.

The reporter tried one more time, asking the Origin great if he felt Sua’ali’i deserved to be sent off. Clearly frustrated, Slater fired back: “Did you?”

On Seven’s Sunrise on Thursday, Slater was asked if wanted to comment on the incident this morning, he simply said: “No.”

Walsh was helped from the field. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

While the Queenslanders had been keeping their thoughts to themselves — and likely fuelling their plans for the remainder of the series — Thurston let loose with the allegation.

“Everyone has seen it and it was unfortunate for Sua'ali'i making his debut,” Thurston said.

“It was direct, forceful contact to the head and they clearly had a target on (Walsh) … the officials had no other option.”

Thurston also pointed to a moment before Sua’ali’i’s hit when Walsh was seemingly hit late after kicking.

Blues coach Michael Maguire called the accusations “ridiculous”.

“They’ve got their opinions but I’ll hold my tongue on that one,” the Blues coach said.

“He was just going out to make a tackle and Reece was slipping as Joey was going down. It was an unfortunate act.”

Sua’ali’i, who is facing a four-week ban with an early plea, went on an apology tour on Thursday, taking to Instagram first before fronting the media.

Sua’ali’i said he was “disappointed at letting my family, my state and my teammates (down)”.

“I didn’t mean that at all, I just went there to go and tackle (Walsh),” Sua'ali'i continued.

“I accidentally clipped his head and I hope he is doing all right.

“I haven’t reached out to him yet but it’s something I’ll do.”

Originally published as Reece Walsh ‘conspiracy theory’ erupts over horror Joseph Sua’ali’i hit