Reece Walsh, Latrell Mitchell moment that should embarrass entire state

An embarrassing moment that everyone missed from Game 2 exposes exactly what’s wrong with their team ahead of the decider.

COMMENT

The most shameful aspect of Queensland’s MCG collapse was not their awful first half, nor Billy Slater’s drivel sloganism that sounded like he was campaigning for office.

It was the shafting they copped in the macho stakes that culminated in a shocking breach of their precious Maroons bro code.

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If Queensland’s chest-beating about their unparalleled pride is fair dinkum, then Reece Walsh being shoved over the dead ball line in the 37th minute of the match by Latrell Mitchell should’ve been a Bat Signal for 25+ bristling Maroons to storm the scene to defend their teammate.

The 21-year-old superstar fullback was also nowhere near the ball when he was shoved in the back.

But who answered the call?

The closest things to come within cooee were a cameraman and a spare ball, both which were dormant yet still showed more urgency than the Maroons.

Seeing Walsh manhandled unchecked was an extraordinary display of rank cowardice from Slater’s boys, one that should ring serious alarm bells for the state’s dwindling testosterone count.

You can watch the incident in the video above

Latrell Mitchell flattens Reece Walsh off the ball in the 37th minute and the Maroons players do nothing about it.

After all, not only are Queenslanders the self-appointed arbiters of Origin’s ethics, they’ll brag to anyone about how the jersey makes them tougher than a cat’s head.

And after the fortnight of fomented outrage following the Joseph Sua’ali’i send-off, you’d think they’d support their own protests by protecting Walsh with all the care of a century egg.

But nope, besides Xavier Coates providing a helping hand to haul the fullback off the turf, a host of Maroons within range were statuesque in providing no retaliation towards Mitchell whatsoever.

In fact, the response was so meagre we can’t even compare them to Ben Creagh because you can’t back-pedal from a stoush if you’re not there in the first place.

Add Ruben Cotter fronting Angus Crichton later in the match with a shove that wouldn’t have popped a shampoo bubble - and the NSW pack’s unending dominance over the entire match - and it’s clear the once-mighty Maroons have gone soft.

Latrell Mitchell pushed Reece Walsh in the back as the ball bounced metres away.

So instead of entering the playing arena shirtless and foaming, why were they hiding like that last island of hair at the back of Felise Kaufusi’s head?

Because the state’s in the grip of a serious vacuum of leadership and dad-strength.

Can you imagine the Maroons churning out such effeminate palaver on the same field as Gorden Tallis or Trevor Gillmeister?

These are the type of leaders who’d meet any sign of Blues physicality with tenfold hostility.

But now all they’ve got is a bunch of shy omelettes that won’t respond to Daly Cherry-Evans’ articulation.

What's happened to this state?

The answer is simple.

Reece Walsh had a tough outing at the MCG. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Origin was once renowned for incomprehensible feats of grit and endurance, but nowadays the concept’s ‘tales of the extraordinary’ are mainly just Queensland’s lies about their mythical powers.

But maybe this is a fork in the road.

Maybe all their talk of the paranormal jersey and countless defeats of staph infections have finally been exposed as nothing more than parochial artifice.

And despite delivering a superior win record and a clear mental edge over their rivals, these historical distortions are slowly losing their placebo effect.

Or maybe they’ve just got no answer to Liam Martin bashin’ ‘em.

These words may be the naivety of another misled Blues believer at the apex of his euphoria pendulum.

But this time, it felt like Latrell’s hit on Reece just hit different.

- Dane Eldridge is a warped cynic yearning for the glory days of rugby league, a time when the sponges were magic and the Mondays were mad. He’s never strapped on a boot in his life, and as such, should be taken with a grain of salt.

Originally published as Reece Walsh, Latrell Mitchell moment that should embarrass entire state