Ronaldo Mulitalo pulled out of State of Origin after being warned game could be forfeited if he played

Ronaldo Mulitalo confirms Queensland may have been stripped of the result had he played, the Maroons won and he was later ruled ineligible.

A devastated Ronaldo Mulitalo pulled out of Origin II to avoid a bigger mess down the track. Picture: Josh Woning

In his own words, Ronaldo Mulitalo has spilt blood for Queensland.

“I have invested so much time, effort — I have bled for the state,” Mulitalo told The Australian.

“I have poured my heart out, cried when I start talking about the state. I was born in New Zealand but (Queensland) made me who I was.

“If you know me personally, this is where I got my shot. I got everything I have from here. I feel like I owe Queensland something.

“That is what breaks my heart even more. I had a chance to give back to this great state and represent the state and my family.”

Mulitalo went to bed on Saturday night on top of the world. Earlier that day, he had been told he would make his State of Origin debut for the Maroons after Reece Walsh succumbed to injury.

While he lay in bed soaking in the greatest moment of his career, a firestorm was unfolding around him. It started, as things so often do these days, on social media when an eagle-eyed rugby league fan started raising queries over whether Mulitalo met the Origin eligibility guidelines, that were changed and streamlined in 2012.

As evidence, the person remarkably pointed to a story on the Queensland Rugby League’s own website. The article, posted on the website two years ago, suggested Mulitalo moved to Queensland as a 14-year-old — under Origin guidelines, to be eligible a player must have resided in NSW or Queensland before their 13th birthday.

On face value, Mulitalo was ineligible. The Australian contacted the NRL for clarity and passed the information onto NSW Rugby League chief executive David Trodden, who immediately took the issue up with his NRL counterpart Andrew Abdo.

Abdo sought answers on Saturday night from the QRL after conflicting information was found on Mulitalo’s playing contracts.

“I spoke to (QRL chief executive) Rob Moore last night and — after it had been brought to my attention that there was conflicting information — we said to them that they needed to provide us with some form of confirmation that he was eligible,” Abdo said.

“They couldn’t do that. Therefore, they have chosen to withdraw him. We have sought information from the QRL and we will take him on his word. We just need the information.”

The QRL was still attempting to sort the fact from the fiction on Sunday morning amid suggestions that Mulitalo had come to Australia before the age of 13 to check out Queensland ahead of his move.

Mulitalo, who first represented the Maroons in under 15s, confirmed he did indeed make an earlier trip to Queensland.

“There is some paperwork I have to sort out, some dates I have to work out,” he said.

“I can’t really say much at this point. I came over to see my brother — he was here and came earlier. I came to stay with him for a bit to see what it was about.

“I don’t want to give any answers that aren’t rock solid. The problem is no one has paperwork. I don’t have my old passport. Mine expired the year I moved over.”

With no evidence at hand to verify his earlier trip to Queensland, Mulitalo was left with little choice but to withdraw. The alternative — that he played, Queensland won and the result was subsequently stripped from the Maroons — didn’t bear thought.

“If it went to the committee to plead my case and if it found I wasn’t eligible, and the game was overturned, I didn’t want to put my teammates and all the playing group in the predicament of being stripped of the game,” he said.

“The chance was that the game would go on and there would be an investigation the next day. If it wasn’t enough for the NRL then the game would have been stripped and it would have been forfeited.”

The sense is that ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys and Abdo are sympathetic to Mulitalo’s situation. They will review the case this week and there is a good chance he will be cleared to play in Origin III, although the chances of him being selected are likely to hinge on Walsh’s fitness along with that of Newcastle star Kalyn Ponga.

“I am heartbroken, I am pissed off,” he said.

“It’s something you work for your whole life and someone takes it from you. I am sure the paperwork will sort it out.

“There are rules there, I get that. I have concerns about why wasn’t this raised earlier? It could have been sorted out. I have represented the state for eight years now, got to the pinnacle of it and fall short.

“My family invested money for me to play for Queensland as well. We went on away trips when I was younger. I feel like my family have paid the price as well.

“Hopefully I can sit down with (ARL Commission chair) Peter V’landys and Abdo and see my options and whether there is anything we can do.”