See the moment Billy Slater loses his cool over Joseph Sua’ali’i’s shocking hit as Maroons legend Johnathan Thurston levels a stunning accusation at the Blues
- Billy Slater can barely contain his anger at the high tackle
- Maroons coach has tense conversation with reporter
- Thurston was also furious about the hit on Reece Walsh
Queensland coach Billy Slater could barely contain his anger at questions about Joseph Sua’ali’i’s high tackle that left Reece Walsh concussed and out of the match.
Sua’ali’i will spend four weeks on the sidelines with an early guilty plea following Walsh’s head shot in the eighth minute of the Maroons’ 38-10 win in Wednesday’s State of Origin series opener in Sydney.
Slater declined to comment on the matter during his post-match press conference and responded to media queries.
“I’ll keep my feelings on that to myself,” Slater said coolly before being asked if he thought NSW were targeting Walsh.
“I have no idea, but I can’t keep my feelings about it to myself,” he replied.
Queensland coach Billy Slater refused to answer questions about the controversial tackle despite being asked several times
Slater was then asked if he thought Sua’ali’i’s goal warranted an exclusion.
‘Do you have?’ he shot back at the journalist.
Slater was also asked what he thought of the tackle during the Channel Nine match, to which he sternly replied: “You probably don’t want to know.”
Meanwhile, Queensland assistant coach Johnathan Thurston has accused NSW of targeting Reece Walsh.
“Everyone saw it and it was a shame that Sua’ali’i made his debut,” Maroons great Thurston said.
“It was a direct, forceful contact to the head and they clearly had a target on (Walsh)… the officials had no other choice.”
Queensland team manager Nate Myles – who played 32 Origin games for the Maroons – gave Suaalii a spray as he left the field and told the NSW man to ‘enjoy your bloody debut’.
Myles said the Blues dampened their tactical ploy to take out Walsh, who was hit hard on the ground by striker Liam Martin just minutes before the Suaalii incident.
Queensland assistant coach Johnathan Thurston (pictured) has accused the Blues of targeting Reece Walsh
Myles (left) repeatedly shouted ‘enjoy your f**king debut’ at Sua’ali’i (right) and only stopped his outburst when confronted by an NRL official
“(Suaalii) was wrong and… it doesn’t look good for the game,” Myles said.
‘Controlled aggression is the key now. Controlled aggression is not hitting the right spot every time, but what you do on every play.
‘A good team sticks to their tactics and doesn’t do anything wrong.
‘That action against Reece at the back, they didn’t understand it properly.’
Myles said he was not suggesting Walsh should be wrapped in cotton wool.
“No one needs protection, it’s rugby league but there are rules,” he said.
“We want the game to flourish. It’s going great, but we have to take care of the players and keep them on the field.
“When Walsh came back to the bench, I knew he was doing well, but there’s a safety protocol and there’s a reason why guys don’t play back-to-back games anymore.
“It would have been good to see a young man like Reece go to the game.”
Maroons flyer Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow switched from center to full-back as Walsh departed and got a blinder and scored three tries.
The ‘Hammer’ was stunned by the Suaalii goal and said the Blues center got what he deserved.
“It’s a bad one, straight to the head,” Tabuai-Fidow said.
“It’s something we’re trying to take out of the game to protect the players. He’s fine now.
‘I wasn’t surprised at all. I watched it back on the big screen and it came right to mind. We all knew he was going to be sent away.”
