Joseph Suaalii’s well-documented high tackle on Reece Walsh was made to look worse by the Queensland fullback falling as he was hit, according to NSW prop Payne Haas.
It comes as Suaalii’s Blues teammates vow to support the centre after his sending-off condemned the 12-man Blues to a 38-10loss in the series opener at Accor Stadium.
After flying out of the line and hitting Walsh high and late, Suaalii became only the sixth man in Origin history to be sent off, with Queensland privately seething at the shot that knocked Walsh out and ended his night after only seven minutes.
Blues behemoth Haas, who plays club football with Walsh at Brisbane, was more understanding.
“I thought Reece slipped into it,” he told AAP. “I hope Walshy’s all right, he’s my teammate at club, so I hope he’s all right.
“(But) I feel sorry for Joey, it’s a bit of a hard one. We’ve all got his back and I’m sure he’ll be back. I’m not sure what he’s supposed to do there to pull out.”
New Blues coach Michael Maguire said at full-time that Suaalii would have “a fair bit of emotion rolling around inside him” after his costly hit.
But NSW were quick to show support for the 20-year-old centre in the sheds post-match, assuring him there would be no bad blood between teammates.
“Obviously it’s a tough one, he’s obviously got plenty of boys here that have his back,” winger Brian To’o told AAP.
“What happens to Joey, we’ve still got his back. It was a tough one to give away but things like that happen.”
Fellow centre Stephen Crichton felt for Suaalii as he attempted to make a big play on the edge.
“I tried to connect with him once I came back inside,” Crichton told AAP. “He just got his angles and that all wrong.
“He was going out there to make a play. Reece probably slipped a bit as well. He was on his way down.”
Suaalii’s State of Origin career could be over after just seven minutes of action unless he one day returns to the NRL, having signed on with Rugby Australia following the season, with the NSW star facing a four-game ban for the shot that knocked out Walsh.
With an early guilty plea he won’t be able to play before teams are picked for Origin III on July 17.
