NSW were clearly targeting Reece Walsh, they just got it seriously wrong

Joseph Sua’ali’i’s high shot on Reece Walsh wasn’t just an errant ribs tackle that slightly overshot the mark and hit his head.

Dane Eldridge

3 min read

June 7, 2024 - 7:06AM

NSW were clearly targeting Reece Walsh.

COMMENT

Joseph Sua’ali’i’s high shot on Reece Walsh wasn’t an errant ribs tackle that slightly overshot the mark in to his lips.

It was a premeditated hammer blow to the Queenslander’s face delivered with such ferocity that it could’ve knocked off both of his heads.

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In fact, it had so much intent behind it that even Nate Myles was offended, a man who made a living jousting other heads with his own.

But overall, Sua’ali’i’s widow-making atrocity was the clearest indication NSW had entered the match with a plan to target Walsh.

And good on ‘em for doing so.

Walsh has been in the crosshairs of rival coaches for years now, and frankly he should wear it as a badge of honour.

Put simply, when a team attempts to ruffle your feathers like the Blues did on Wednesday night, it means you’re really good and they’re out of ideas.

And besides, it’s not the first time a bereft opposition has tried to spot-up a dangerous opponent with unsocial shoulders.

Joseph Sua’ali’i takes out Reece Walsh. Picture NRL Photos

Reece Walsh was quickly ruled out of the game. Picture NRL Photos

The only problem was NSW enacted their plan with all the clandestine clumsiness of Kevin Proctor secretly vaping in the toilet and uploading it.

As we know, containing a bloke like Walsh is like trying to catch sunlight with a butterfly net, and rugby league gave up strategising on combating his impact long ago.

Hark back to Taylan May in round two when he shot himself out of a cannon directly in to the fullback’s forehead, or the Blues attempting a ‘bomb and bash’ assault last year that backfired with a weak slap by Josh Addo-Carr and a Walsh-inspired Maroons win.

It all means the Queensland fullback is the most targeted man in the game, mainly because there’s nothing left for containing his influence but dog shots.

However, there are ways one can conduct their dog-shotting on Walsh in a gentlemanly fashion, none of which the Blues employed in the series opener.

Queensland are not happy. Photo: NRL Photos

Knock the wind out of him, rack him with fear, and anything beyond the realms of good taste, lay down a phone book and impart your blows succinctly.

In lay terms, NSW’s aim should’ve been to smash the fullback in to the Accor Stadium carpark, albeit as legally and safely as possible.

But they botched the whole thing from the get-go.

Sure, former greats spent the week salivating publicly about belting the fullback, with Benny Elias demanding he be “obliterated” as Mark Carroll brooded how he’d “love to get my hands on him”- and to be fair, that’s all part of Origin’s posturing.

But when a hardman like Maguire inherits an iron deficient program and his first team is lined with meataxes, it was obvious such blunt-force tactics could genuinely be on the horizon.

Joseph-Aukuso Sua'ali'i of the Blues is sent from the field by referee Ashley Klein. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

Then once the Blues tried to smash Walsh off the ball in the first minute, the writing was on the wall - and it was only a matter of time before someone like Sua’ali’i uncouthly launched at his head like a torpedo scud without radar.

In summary, the Blues put a bounty on Walsh and ended up paying the ultimate price themselves.

But to be fair, while ever he continues to make the rest of the game look foolish, his ribcage will remain the most sought-after since Johnathan Thurston’s.

- 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.