NSW centre Joseph Suaalii is facing a four-match ban after flooring Queensland fullback Reece Walsh with a sickening hit in the opening minutes of the State of Origin opener.
Suaalii will be suspended for four games if he lodges an early guilty plea but five matches if he fights the charge at the NRL judiciary and loses. The NRL acted quickly to hand down the charge following the match, with Suaalii facing a lengthy period on the sideline after smashing Walsh with a high shot as the Blues slumped to a 38-10 defeat to the Maroons at Accor Stadium.
Suaalii was sent off by referee Ashley Klein seven minutes into the clash and Walsh, who was displaying category one concussion symptoms, was also done for the night early.
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Play continued for a short while after the Suaalii hit as Queensland, already leading 6-0, raided NSW’s try line, before attention turned to Walsh, who was flat on his back on the turf. Immediately after the hit, Walsh’s eyes rolled back in his head and he was left prone for several minutes before being assisted from the field.
Joseph Suaalii hammering Reece Walsh. Nine
New Blues captain Jake Trbojevic was astonished when Klein opted for a send-off instead of a sin-bin.
“I don’t want you to say a word, OK?” Klein told Trbojevic as he prepared to deliver his verdict.
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“It’s a very dangerous action, there’s direct contact to the head with the shoulder, you’re off.”
The Nine broadcast flashed to a seething Billy Slater in the Maroons coach’s box.
“You probably don’t want to know my thoughts,” Slater said on the coverage.
Blues legend Andrew Johns disagreed with the send-off.
“At club land? Yes,” Johns said.
“It’s a shame. It is a send-off, but at this level? I’m really surprised they sent Joseph Suaalii off.”
Suaalii became just the sixth man to be sent off in Origin history.