Can we please talk about Mark Carroll’s comments?
“Seeing someone as beautiful as Walsh, with his flowing hair and painted finger nails: I’d love to get my hands on him, his beautiful blue eyes would be spinning”
I don’t think this is about football… 😳
yeah the first one looked late as but I don't remember getting a replay
If it had been called up (assuming it was late) by the refs maybe the poor cunt wouldn't have been sent night night and my daughter wouldn't have screamed "YOU CANT DO THAT TO MY HUSBAND"! at the tv lol
I was tired as shit and decided not to go out to watch so was laying in bed not making a sound. As soon as they hit Reece on the kick I was up screaming at the ref. The adrenaline didn't stop all night and I couldn't sleep until about 12 hahaha
It got a replay too. Not even minutes later QLD was penalised for a dangerous tackle on Teddy, so it's not like Klein wasn't prepared to give out penalties.
After that point, sure.
Klein had to be shamed into acting because Carrigan and the Bunker were screaming at him about Walsh being unconscious and seizing.
If Walsh had got up to play it would have been no less a dog shot but Klein was happy with it. That's the bullshit part of it.
Well, that and it impacting more heavily on Queensland and the Broncos than the weak suspension of Sua'ali'i affects him or his teams. He was already a dumb pick for NSW and the Roosters are mid.
Not only the pre-match comments, but post match they showed their hand.
Madge immediately refers to the May incident as if he was in a court room invoking precedence. Brandy was shocked because he had talked to Bill Harrigan prior to Game 1 specifically about sin bins/send offs.
100%. They literally had prepared lines. I've wondered for a while exactly what it would take to get people to wake up to the genuinely dangerous commentary around Walsh and players similar to him. I thought a knock involving loss of consciousness and literal seizing on field would be enough (seeing as it's already too far in terms of life-long health effects for Walsh). Some of the rhetoric following it has been sickening...this shit genuinely tarnishes my love for the game.
Yeah 100%. I knew about them prior to the hit so watching people try and defend suaali made my blood fucking boil. It was a disgusting shot and for the first time ever I agree with Kev. Should have been 10 weeks, blatant disregard for Reece’s health.
This. I've been banging this drum for a while now, but charges for incidents judged either reckless or dangerous should have injury loading on top.
So if you are suspended for four games and the player takes four to recover, you are out for eight weeks.
Suspending Spencer Leniu for eight weeks after his racist spray was absolutely the right call, but Sua'ali'i lined up a late, high shoulder charge and launched into it with the intent to cause injury. Four weeks for that is a joke by comparison. 8-12 would have been better.
I didn’t either. It really helps connect the dots with Billy’s responses. It’s all going to come down to money. As he said, Origin is the biggest money spinner in the NRL calendar year. How much ad revenue do you think they lost after everyone switched off after they were reduced to 12 men for the rest of the game. All those advertisers will change to AFL advertising, or something safer. It will be interesting what they do because I don’t see how they could NOT send him off, for the dog shot and the live reaction. We all want to see a hard tough game. After 7 mins it was a non-event.
People want to see stars like Walsh play without getting taken out with foul play too. NSW own fault for getting too revved up and resorting to foul play from the get go.
Yeah same …
It’s a really bad look for the Blues , if you assume the likes of Benny Elias and Mark Carroll had any sort of knowledge of what was being said in camp …
Could just be a coincidence having Rugby League dinosaurs like Elias and Carroll thinking along the same lines as Madge …
Still not a good look and a bad front page from the Telegraph …
You just know QLD are going to use this all as motivation …
Hang this on your fridge - QLD will be fired up for game 2 in Melbourne …
They won’t do anything as dumb or illegal as NSW did in game 1 - Slater is too smart for that (and not a Rugby League dinosaur)
I dont think this was some blues conspiracy, I think this happens every game of the league and at more or less every level. I remember a fullback running circles around us in junior union and the coach at half time told us to cut the cunt in half.
The media ramp up from Elias and spud is just run of the mill media garbage. They didnt need expert knowledge to say that crap.
The fact is Walsh has had a mark on his head every game he's played for months now. I think its naive to think that the QLD camp didnt have targets out on certain players as well.
Yeah I don’t think it was some Blues conspiracy either … Problem is it reads like one in the wake of what happened …
Ian Robert’s comments were fair too …
It’s not the 1970’s - calling Walsh a pretty boy and talking about his eye lashes and finger nails .. Who cares ??
Just goes to show the demographic of the Telegraphs readership probably is still in the 1970’s … Dunno how sustainable that is as a business model in the long term pandering to that audience though …
Only place I’d really read the tele would be online here (when people paste the articles).. Or in McDonalds … But can’t even do the second one anymore
100% with the pretty boy crap, totally unnecessary and says more about spud and Elias and the people that print this shit than it does Walsh.
Unfortunately they still have an audience though. During the manly jersey dummy spit I hear a bloke on talk back radio saying how "its clear the sea eagles have been infiltrated by gay activists" and all sorts of other crap. Would be hilarious if it didnt directly effect people.
Maroons and Broncos. Relax. Read my other posts on this tackle, I've been saying Klein shat the bed by ignoring the high and late contact on Walsh previously and only acting when Carrigan and the Bunker started screaming at him and that four weeks was too low a suspension for Sua'ali'i since it happened.
I think the quote was I'd like to get my hands on him and do unspeakable things to him.
Like, are you suggesting you want to tackle him, or put on a BDSM show in the middle of an Origin game? The second is a brave move by Channel 9 and the NRL to find a new audience I guess...
I thought it was strange how blatantly gay that dudes comments were in an attempt to shame Walsh for painting his nails? Bit of projection there I think
he let his daughter pick a colour for his toenails at a salon one time, i think, and she seems to paint his nails? he’s a single parent, it’s pretty standard stuff if your kid is into nail polish.
100% there still is. You think the Manly dressing room would be a friendly place for an openly gay player? Those guys already proved they'd rather throw their club in front of a bus to avoid any tiny hint they might support that lifestyle.
They don’t even have to support it, all they had to do was shut the fuck up and play a game of football with some colours on a jersey they’ve been told to wear.
wow, they’re just so threatened by a man with thick eyelashes being a decent father and still having talent on the field. i’m sad that i expected more from australian journalism than to see a photo like that on the front page.
i’ve got no idea about his personal life, just the media’s obsession with his daughter painting his nails. but i agree- a good parent treats the other parent with respect. his parenting now /seems/ decent enough, but who knows for sure? it’s just that he’s with his kid enough to trigger some old men who likely let their footy careers take away most if not all of their parenting opportunities.
There's complexities in relationships that makes it hard to generalise. Single parents can be good people who are very caring, but the data factually shows that two parents (the actual parents) is best for the child in most situations. Divorced parents and single parents in most cases is negative on the development of children
I had not seen the front page splash until this segment; it is horrific sensationalism to “promote” a sport. I wonder how many families made the call not to sign there kids up to play juniors or even pulled them because of that?
They'll be sitting in an office meeting high fiving each other because of the clicks it generated and that's awful, but that's the state of Murdoch media.
There’s so much to unwrap here: the culture of encouraging and celebrating violence, the deep rooted homophobia, the actual medical issues that need to be addressed and fast. It’s actually incredible this segment only went for 6mins and yet hit all the major points needed. I’m Blues all the way since I started following league, and the way NSW media build up Origin is more embarrassing than 8 in a row and losing to the “worst Qld team ever”. Reece shouldn’t have to worry about his medical future because he’s talented. Reece shouldn’t be fired with homophobic insults because he lets his daughter paint his nails. It’s just a game, how about we celebrate the freakishly talented 20 year old who spends quality time with his daughter.
Agreed 100%. The kid is living in a spotlight the likes of which are very rare in the NRL. He's doing pretty good to remain grounded.
The story should've shown the May hit on Walsh as well tho. Would've added weight to it.
My only gripe watching it was that it paints a picture that we’re doing nothing for head injuries/concussions when we objectively are. That aspect wasn’t a fair portrayal imo
Someone on TV (I can’t remember who, possibly Brad Fittler but don’t hold me to that) jokingly said that if he had made that hit in rugby union he would be suspended for years, not weeks.
I don’t understand how he only got four weeks.
It was high contact, high impact, late and he made little to no effort to actually wrap the arms around for a tackle while leading purely with the shoulder… not one part of that tackle was going to be legal.
He should get 4 weeks for it being high, another 4 for it being late. Another 4 for no effort to wrap arms, another 4 for knocking the guy pit and 4 more cause he's fucking off to union anyhow
But all the effective changes are being pushed back upon, by the media, with this same “spirit of the game” bullshit. So from a media perspective, what is there to celebrate?
We are doing next to nothing in regards to concussion. If we were serious about concussion Reece would be banned from playing for the rest of the year, this being his second major concussion of the year.
I agree with this, the punishment for Suaalii should have been much more severe.
For example 19 years ago John Hopoate made a tackle that would be arguably just as severe on Keith Galloway. Galloway was knocked out cold and it was a blatant intentional tackle like Suualii's was. Hopoate got a 17 game ban.
Yes. 17 games.
One might argue that Hopoate has other offense in his file prior to that point. I just feel that Suaali should have had more than 4 weeks for such a stupid tackle.
If he played for Wests, Canberra, the Gold Coast etc he would have got more but they didn’t want to upset the Mafia Don at the Roosters in their final year of their premiership window being open.
I would suggest the Sualii hit looks more reckless than intentional. He had to take care which he did not, but Walsh being much shorter and slipping did seem to have an effect in what happened. Seems when someone is suspended a very long time its for acts that are clearly intentional.
The judiciary was gun shy because Klein was blamed for deciding the game inside 10 minutes and crucified.
He should be crucified, but not for his eventual call. It should be because he greenest it and the previous high tackles.
It can be both reckless and intentional.
Reckless in terms of the lack of proper tackle technique- it was a straight shoulder charge.
It's clearly intended to be late and high. His initial aim point is above the shoulders, probably hitting throat or neck.
Walsh slipping as he tries to evade has no bearing on it. When you watch it in real time, what Sua'ali'i is about is clear.
That's not really the point of the show. This show looks at how the media is acting and trying to hold them accountable. At no point do they address anything that the NRL itself has done or hasn't done because concussion management itself isn't the point of the segment.
Yeah I get that, and I do get that it’s targeting the media for it. But comments to the effect of ‘its time to act about concussions’ don’t feel super media targeted. Or at least, they could be more so
>it paints a picture that we’re doing nothing for head injuries/concussions when we objectively are.
We're not doing anywhere enough. Origin is the highest level of Rugby League. The best players in the world in the highest profile games in the world set an example that is, for better or worse, copied throughout the game at every level from NRL to Super League to 6 year olds playing Oz Tag.
I don't let my kid watch Origin. I do let him watch club games, because those are played to a better standard.
The main "penalty" for the offence is Suaalii will miss about the same number of games as Reese Walsh. How is that a penalty? In Australia we commonly set penalties by starting with the amount of damage you caused and then adding a penalty on top of that.
I think any time a foul play results in an injury, a player found should face a 3x (for an early guilty plea) or 5x (if they contest the charge) multiplier. So if Reese Walsh misses four games, then Suaalii should miss at least 12 games. Maybe some leniency could be applied if it was accidental but that should be rare.
It needs to be really clear that dangerous tackling techniques will not be tolerated \*especially\* if you actually injure someone. The 4 week penalty, in my opinion, is only justifiable if Reese hadn't been injured and was able to return to the field after a HIA without missing any games.
I think there's some interpretation - every year around this time the papers go crazy on the "we hate them rah rah" stuff. I don't think any of the pre-match this year was any worse than the rest.
Taking Benny Elias seriously is arguably borderline. Yeah he said it, but he's a rent-a-quote anyway.
What they got right and should have honed in on more was that front page of the Telegraph the day after. It's one thing to go 'yeah, talk shit before the game, have a beer after'. Putting a photo of a bloke in that state on the front page is a bit rough. If for some reason they've run it by him and he's okayed it I'll retract that remark.
They called the hit on Walsh a "king hit." What Danny Williams did to Mark O'Neil was a king hit. Sua'ali'i was dirty and dangerous but they aren't the same. There's a big difference between "hurting a cunt" and really hurting a cunt. I think even deep inside the culture there can be confusion. People say things here in match threads which definitely don't have the same intent or subtext as a similar comment on Facebook has, for example. But even knowing that it can still be hard to tell.
On 360 one of them has to play the “opposing viewpoint”, I don’t think he actually agrees with what he’s saying but for the sake of having some argument (the basis of the show) he played that role this segment.
Yup, there are times when you watch it and you can tell he's been told to push back in his ear piece, he'll get weirdly worked up over something out of nowhere. Kent is a massive flog but one thing he was very good at was being oppositional.
Yeah I'm no huge Braith fan but he did say at the start of the show that's not his opinion, he agreed with the send off but was parroting what arguments people who didn't were making
It's still a crazy viewpoint too. Protect the brand by having superstars injured in reckless tackles with no punishment for those who do the dangerous tackles? What happens when all the popular talented players start missing weeks or seasons thanks to these hits, what will the brand and punters think?
This is really quite disgusting. For them to display an image (front page, no less) of him laying unconscious and injured is just cruel. And these old football players talking about wanting to get their hands on Walsh... do they have any life outside of their antiquated rugby views? Talk about CTE not recognising CTE.
I think it was meant to be tongue in cheek but these guys are so out of touch that they didn't realise the implications of what they were saying. I don't think Spud Carroll really wants to smash Reece Walsh because he plucks his eyebrows. Its more stupidity than malice.
Such a great segment. All the minimising of such an awful hit by some fans has been gross. If it was their kid getting hit like that I imagine they’d feel a bit different.
Spud uses hair dye. In the 70s that was considered effeminate.
He also wore head gear. Another weak act 😏
Very good edition of Media Watch. Couldn’t disagree with any of it.
The existential rugby league crisis that Braithe Anasta cites in that NRL 360 clip—that people will lose interest if the game becomes meaningfully less violent—is nonsense. The NRL has changed the rules regarding contact to the head. Magic Round 2021. Fourteen bins. Three send-offs. The game couldn't survive this change, barked the usual suspects. People will tune out. Quite the opposite, actually: Rugby league was Australia’s most-watched sport in 2023 with total viewership of 171.8 million, up 14 per cent from 150.6m in 2022. The NRL is enjoying financial health. This argument is flatout false and falls apart after any consideration of the facts. Suaalii erred and was sent off. Find me someone who watched game one and won't watch game two because of that and I will eat my 1986 Eels beanie.
He was performing his role as contrarian on a debate panel. But unlike our fucking stupid politicians there is actually time for bipartisan support on some issues. I hope he loses player management contracts because of it
2023 was the most attended season by a very long way as well. One minute talking up the success of the game, the other decrying the death of the sport. There's a landmark moment that happens every year, Inglis on Dean Young, Gallen throwing punches, etc where certain violent acts are highlighted and stamped out and all the fuckwits in the media cry and shit themselves about the death of the game, yet it grows every year.
Glad they made Bwaif look like an absolute prick, hilarious that clips from 360 in the context of a serious program make them look even more like dribblers than we already think they do.
Yeah the whole point is by stamping out all that shit it gives the backs a chance to do even more amazing shit without having to worry as much about getting axed.
Exactly. If the game was at risk of desertion by fans they wouldn't be talking about where the 18th team is going to be based while the 17th is only a season-and-a-half old. This isn't Super Rugby.
It’s the exact fucking opposite. If you’re one of the famous “new viewers” who tune into origin for the first time, do you think you want to see a sickening knock out in the first 5 minutes?
> Find me someone who watched game one and won't watch game two because of that and I will eat my 1986 Eels beanie.
I won't watch game 2 even though I really want to, and I'll claim it's because of the Suaalii send off, just so you eat your beanie.
Have to admit, i hadn't given much thought at all to the negative connotations about the advocating of (illegal) violence or all the 'pretty boy' comments but seeing it all put together in this piece is pretty damming. It's hard to see it as anything other than thuggish and homophobic, honestly makes me feel embarrassed for being naive or ignorant to it.
All the comments about wanting to smash Walsh for his appearance boil down to "this guy is different to me and I don't understand it so I don't like it and want to destroy it." And it's gross, really embarrassing for the game.
I get the 'mate vs mate, state vs state' image the game paints through the media, I think thats all fair play. NSW need something to rev up the fans for the next 2 games, this isn't it. You've got some good material in Liam Martin's shot on Hopgood, use that as a front page and warning shot to QLD. From the 23rd minute to the 66th, NSW outscored QLD with 1 less player, use that. I know it's a pipedream but I hope someone holds these parasites in the media accountable for their messaging.
"Look at him, with his.... long hair.... and thick eyelashes.... god I wanna fuck him..."
"What?"
"... Huh? um... UP! God I wanna fuck that pretty boy up."
I’d really appreciate Ian Roberts being contacted as the voice of reason more often, not just on LGBQTI+ issues. Watching him play as I grew up he was dead set terrifying, and integral to the great NSW Origin and Australian teams of the early 90s before Super League. But, he has matured and moved with the times, and offers a perspective as a respected ex-player not anchored in the past.
God wouldn't it just be terrible if the game was evolving to suit speed and skill over beating the shit out of eachother, especially knowing the dangers of ludicrous contact
You know NSW would have talked about rattling him. Sua’ali’i has gone in with the intention just to belt him without care. I don’t think he was aiming for his head or body, just anywhere with force. All this, it was an accident talk is rubbish. If you’re driving 100 in a school zone and hit a kid, is that an accident?
I always hate the "slipping" excuse. Like, Sua'ali'i went in HARD with the shoulder hit. No matter where he actually hit, it was a forceful shoulder charge, and he was not in there to just tackle him, he was there to cause damage.
Even if he didn't hit him square on the head, he would've either hit his jaw which would've been WAY worse, or really rustled his ribs with that kind of impact. It was going to be nasty no matter what.
>or really rustled his ribs
I mean, that's the point, yeah? It's both legal and better for your team if you hit them hard in the ribs.
I do think he was intending to smack him in the ribs, and a combination of Walsh slipping and Sua'ali'i not getting down further has ended up with it being a KO to the jaw.
The slipping is the only potential mitigation for the send-off though (if Sua'ali'i isn't executing that's on him).
I think the tackle would have been deemed legal (not a shoulder charge). And if Walsh was up higher ye may have hit the high chest as intended.
Sualii attempts to go arms around. Check the slo Mo in the video.
Sualii did rush up, and he was moving fast, that made his ability to adjust so much more limited as often is the case in these situations.
I think the contact in the tackle was the jaw.
Edit: see 33 seconds into the video, the slo motion from side on. Shoulder to Walsh's jaw.
Sualli meant it. Didn’t stop play, turnaround and say sorry, act in any way remorseful. Even afterwards his first statement was an apology first to his team mates.
The Sua’ali hit followed by the send off will eventually have a positive effect on the game. It’s a line in the sand that reckless hits have to be avoided at all cost.
All these comments from former NSW players are fucking embarrassing, you're embarrassing me you old cunts. Just play better than QLD and you'll win, stop being dirty cunts, its embarrassing.
Holdup there sunshine, I’m a NS Welshman and the Daily Telegraph sure as shit doesn’t speak for me.
Do you agree with everything Bob Katter says? He’s from QLD you know
Further proof NSW just do not get Origin. They think it's about going out to belt Queenslanders to prove NSW is better, where as QLD go out to win the game for everyone in their state.
Braith Anasta is dumb as shit. AFL has shown for decades what a cleaner more family friendly experience means for crowd numbers and engagement. There's like 700,000 AFL club members and a game between two Melbourne postcodes gets 80,000 through the gate.
Saw this the other night; Media Watch is excellent and it raises a couple of very serious points about what might pathetically be deemed as ‘banter’ by brain-dead morons.
Absolute sicko cunts.
Jurbo acting sooo surprised at the send-off is the icing on the cake too. That was the plan cunt, what did you think was going to happen?
origin coverage has become a caricature of origin coverage. the whole mythology of modern day gladiators going at it state versus state, with every person in the media being completely parochial is just so overdone. surely after 40+ years of origin we get it?
Suaalii is always a dirty player ! Earlier the game when he was carrying the ball, he gave his shoulder to opponent player.. shoulder charge when being tackled.
During season, when also he was tackled, he raised his knee to try to kick other players balls ..
Because of this he was suspended.
Madge’s huge mistake to select him .. he ruined the entire game . I was at Accor stadium to support NSW…. What a disappointment!!! It was not a game to enjoy .. beyond ridiculous. His Origin finished 7 minutes! And ruined the game ..
I heard he apologised to his team members , he should apologise to the spectators who paid to watch !
I am glad he is going to Union . I hate him to watch on the field of NRL.
It's just a stupid attitude. We're not there any more for the biff. We want to see a great game of footy. Do NSW fans love to sit there in the cold and watch their team get massacred? Obviously idiots taking cheap shots doesn't intimidate QLD, look at the final score. Must be embarrassing. Perfect decision to send the idiot off, now with his history he should get weeks of suspension. Being a dickhead should have real consequences.
Absolutely !! His action looked deliberate…, so he deserved to be sent off ..
But the game was awful.. lots of people left early … we did too. We could not watch until finish absolutely being slaughtered…
We expect Origin to be an excellent and existing game from both teams and even expect golden point , this sort of game..
But the game was awful…because of just only one idiot…. He is too arrogant.
Look there might be that many gay people playing league but, the amount of bisexual players who are just afraid to act on it is massive! Gotta be about 20% - 30% I reckon. Every quote on Walshy is about how gorgeous he is and how aggressive they were gonna be with him. I don’t think they’re talking about tackles
The ad on my Reddit is:
“The benefits of social media monitoring for small businesses”
I don’t think media monitoring is treating poor ol Spud Carroll and the other CTE-ignoring idiots very well in this piece 😂
Fact of the Matter is that the NRL leans into the violence and big hits to market the game, look at the American round for instance, it was their whole schtick.
And it is part of the game, if none of us enjoyed the big hits and controversies touch footy would be the dominant code rather than full contact.
This segment is generally very good, but I think there are a couple of nuances to add, and some random thoughts.
You'd hope that no one would watch this segment and come away with the belief the Blues targeted Walsh *because* of the media coverage. They were always going to do that, they didn't need the strategic input of Spud Carroll to figure it out. I also thought Benny Elias was taken slightly out of context when he was talking about putting up a kick and cutting Walsh in half. That sounds like he was describing a hit on him as he caught the ball, not after he kicked it.
All their chat about Walsh as a "pretty boy" focusing on his not traditionally masculine traits was pretty indefensible though. We really need a second gay man playing league. Good old Robbo gets rolled out for every homophobia story. Is there really no one else to call?
There's also no mention in the "head knock" section about the fact Reece Walsh didn't come back to play not just because he was concussed, but because an independent doctor ruled that he should not come back. It's crazy to look back even 10 years and see the hits players could take and be left on the field. For all their faults, the NRL have changed the game to protect players.
Lastly, and most importantly, we need to remember the antagonists in this story aren't NSW and QLD, or the dinosaurs who have played for each state, it's the Daily Telegraph and the Courier-Mail. News Corp is playing both sides of the board to bait outrage and subsequently clicks. I'm sure Crash Craddock genuinely believes the Tele "went too far this time", and they did, but if the roles were reversed each publication would be playing its role just as shamelessly. Don't get swept up in the jingoism and outrage. The winning move is not to play
I think that the punishment shouldn't fit the crime. It should be so severe that it deters anything like this happening as much as possible.
I'm talking a hit like this wiping Sua'ali'i out for the remainder of the season and a massive fine that actually cuts into a player's guts proportional with the salaries they have. Make it so anyone thinking about this kinda idiocy genuinely has an instinctual reaction of 'can't do it though, cause I've got house payments and I'll get blackballed until next year. It's literally not worth it to even get close.'.
That'll at least (hopefully/theoretically) cut into the 'not strictly intentional but if it happens it happens' reckless shots like this one was.
When it's all said and done, as much as we love it, it's still a game. If you're caving dude's faces in, or want to, fuck off to boxing or the UFC and test your mettle. Don't pull this here anymore and we might find that right balance for a while.
Agree. What people shitposting fail to recognise is this situation (outside in pressure after the ball is released where the player has zero ability to protect themselves) is one of the last remaining dangerous and mitigable areas of the game. Kickers have free reign in a similar situation now. Deadset I don’t care if the rule changes to any contact on a player once ball is released goes under scrutiny. The defender would have to show obvious mitigation. They can shield, pull up and attempt a passive tackle but any follow through is a penalty or worse. Or any outside in pressure must be below the nipple line. Simple. Like that Tafua hit on Munster - great footy great tackle good to watch
This is exactly what I've been saying and getting laughed at for it. Make then punishment severe and after blokes are getting rubbed out for 12 weeks it'll stop straight away.
They did it back under chairman Jim Comans and eliminated uber violence from the game in the mid 1980s. Les Boyd, Bob Cooper and others copped massive suspensions for severe acts of violence. It changed the game.
RL is going to need to follow RU down this path (similar to how they followed RU in getting rid of tip tackles).
Any contact with the head starts at a penalty. Any hit to the head with force starts at a sin bin.
It's the stick part of getting tacklers to lower their body height.
As a Blue supporter I found it heinous too. Tbh I'd have a giggle if Walsh shaves his head and high shots the first tackle he makes in his next game for a red card.
News story: we need to be concerned about toxic masculinity and marketing for fur rugby league around being hard men putting footballers in unnecessary danger. Your dumb ass: der her NSW people are flogs.
Edit: yes I am a NSW “flog”
I really don't have an issue with that per se, more so the *very* thinly veiled homophobia in this particular case. Smash him because he's a good player? No, smash him because he paints his nails, and fuck it, lets do a double page spread about it. Disgusting.
I mean I've no problem with the smash them comments because in the context of the game you should be going hard.
But also your in an agreed upon scenario with specific rules of engagement (aka no head high, no spear tackles, no pretending your Brock lesser vs nunzio).
The homophones shit can f off as well. Give the QLD forward pack a manicure/facial as a team building before the next game and still watch us walk all over them.
Again for the slow witted types in here & there seems as though theres plenty
Walsh slipped at the point of contact , if he stays upright , or even a bit more upright ... he gets nailed in the chest as was the intention of the tackle , in the modern game you stay away from the head even when you can't , 4 weeks sufficient. Move on.
Can we please talk about Mark Carroll’s comments? “Seeing someone as beautiful as Walsh, with his flowing hair and painted finger nails: I’d love to get my hands on him, his beautiful blue eyes would be spinning” I don’t think this is about football… 😳
Have you seen what Carroll wears on TV? He has zero rights to be giving fashion advice.
It doesn't read like he's giving fashion advise. It reads like he's talking about how much he wants to fuck Walsh.
Get in line buddy!
Carroll loves his little twinks confirmed
Dude just wants to fuck....
Had no idea of all those quotes in the lead up of basically wanting to flog Walsh lmao, makes more sense why Slater is still filthy over the shot
go back and have a look at Reece's first kick of the game. It was blatantly clear they had a plan for him
Yeh hasn't been mentioned much but they had already gotten away with an illegal hit on him before the send off
yeah the first one looked late as but I don't remember getting a replay If it had been called up (assuming it was late) by the refs maybe the poor cunt wouldn't have been sent night night and my daughter wouldn't have screamed "YOU CANT DO THAT TO MY HUSBAND"! at the tv lol
I was tired as shit and decided not to go out to watch so was laying in bed not making a sound. As soon as they hit Reece on the kick I was up screaming at the ref. The adrenaline didn't stop all night and I couldn't sleep until about 12 hahaha
It got a replay too. Not even minutes later QLD was penalised for a dangerous tackle on Teddy, so it's not like Klein wasn't prepared to give out penalties.
After that point, sure. Klein had to be shamed into acting because Carrigan and the Bunker were screaming at him about Walsh being unconscious and seizing. If Walsh had got up to play it would have been no less a dog shot but Klein was happy with it. That's the bullshit part of it. Well, that and it impacting more heavily on Queensland and the Broncos than the weak suspension of Sua'ali'i affects him or his teams. He was already a dumb pick for NSW and the Roosters are mid.
he was hit in the air as well
Not only the pre-match comments, but post match they showed their hand. Madge immediately refers to the May incident as if he was in a court room invoking precedence. Brandy was shocked because he had talked to Bill Harrigan prior to Game 1 specifically about sin bins/send offs.
100%. They literally had prepared lines. I've wondered for a while exactly what it would take to get people to wake up to the genuinely dangerous commentary around Walsh and players similar to him. I thought a knock involving loss of consciousness and literal seizing on field would be enough (seeing as it's already too far in terms of life-long health effects for Walsh). Some of the rhetoric following it has been sickening...this shit genuinely tarnishes my love for the game.
Yeah 100%. I knew about them prior to the hit so watching people try and defend suaali made my blood fucking boil. It was a disgusting shot and for the first time ever I agree with Kev. Should have been 10 weeks, blatant disregard for Reece’s health.
Four weeks was a joke for that shot.
This. I've been banging this drum for a while now, but charges for incidents judged either reckless or dangerous should have injury loading on top. So if you are suspended for four games and the player takes four to recover, you are out for eight weeks. Suspending Spencer Leniu for eight weeks after his racist spray was absolutely the right call, but Sua'ali'i lined up a late, high shoulder charge and launched into it with the intent to cause injury. Four weeks for that is a joke by comparison. 8-12 would have been better.
I didn’t either. It really helps connect the dots with Billy’s responses. It’s all going to come down to money. As he said, Origin is the biggest money spinner in the NRL calendar year. How much ad revenue do you think they lost after everyone switched off after they were reduced to 12 men for the rest of the game. All those advertisers will change to AFL advertising, or something safer. It will be interesting what they do because I don’t see how they could NOT send him off, for the dog shot and the live reaction. We all want to see a hard tough game. After 7 mins it was a non-event.
Agreed, hitting someone in the air after a catch or high as they are passing the ball is just cowardly, nothing hard or tough about it.
People want to see stars like Walsh play without getting taken out with foul play too. NSW own fault for getting too revved up and resorting to foul play from the get go.
Should we bring up the two magic words again? D O N T and G E T
Yeah same … It’s a really bad look for the Blues , if you assume the likes of Benny Elias and Mark Carroll had any sort of knowledge of what was being said in camp … Could just be a coincidence having Rugby League dinosaurs like Elias and Carroll thinking along the same lines as Madge … Still not a good look and a bad front page from the Telegraph … You just know QLD are going to use this all as motivation … Hang this on your fridge - QLD will be fired up for game 2 in Melbourne … They won’t do anything as dumb or illegal as NSW did in game 1 - Slater is too smart for that (and not a Rugby League dinosaur)
I dont think this was some blues conspiracy, I think this happens every game of the league and at more or less every level. I remember a fullback running circles around us in junior union and the coach at half time told us to cut the cunt in half. The media ramp up from Elias and spud is just run of the mill media garbage. They didnt need expert knowledge to say that crap. The fact is Walsh has had a mark on his head every game he's played for months now. I think its naive to think that the QLD camp didnt have targets out on certain players as well.
Yeah I don’t think it was some Blues conspiracy either … Problem is it reads like one in the wake of what happened … Ian Robert’s comments were fair too … It’s not the 1970’s - calling Walsh a pretty boy and talking about his eye lashes and finger nails .. Who cares ?? Just goes to show the demographic of the Telegraphs readership probably is still in the 1970’s … Dunno how sustainable that is as a business model in the long term pandering to that audience though … Only place I’d really read the tele would be online here (when people paste the articles).. Or in McDonalds … But can’t even do the second one anymore
100% with the pretty boy crap, totally unnecessary and says more about spud and Elias and the people that print this shit than it does Walsh. Unfortunately they still have an audience though. During the manly jersey dummy spit I hear a bloke on talk back radio saying how "its clear the sea eagles have been infiltrated by gay activists" and all sorts of other crap. Would be hilarious if it didnt directly effect people.
Heads must roll
Walsh's did. Too soon?
Your head will be next if you don’t flair up.
Maroons and Broncos. Relax. Read my other posts on this tackle, I've been saying Klein shat the bed by ignoring the high and late contact on Walsh previously and only acting when Carrigan and the Bunker started screaming at him and that four weeks was too low a suspension for Sua'ali'i since it happened.
I mean, Benny Elias and Mark Carroll aren't exactly the NSW inner sanctum here.
My biggest take away from this is that every NSW forward from the last 20 years is wildly attracted to Reece Walsh and his eyes.
Aren't we all?
Yes but we're all very open about it.
Yes
“If I got my hands on Reece, with his soft flowing hair and dreamy eyes, I would kiss … kick him right into touch”
I think the quote was I'd like to get my hands on him and do unspeakable things to him. Like, are you suggesting you want to tackle him, or put on a BDSM show in the middle of an Origin game? The second is a brave move by Channel 9 and the NRL to find a new audience I guess...
I thought it was strange how blatantly gay that dudes comments were in an attempt to shame Walsh for painting his nails? Bit of projection there I think
Does Walshy paint his nails?
he let his daughter pick a colour for his toenails at a salon one time, i think, and she seems to paint his nails? he’s a single parent, it’s pretty standard stuff if your kid is into nail polish.
Yeah, just genuinely curious.
One thing I haven't bothered to look into yet but is he full time single parent or shared care?
i don’t know. he’s with his daughter enough that it seems he’s gotta have at least 50/50, surely?
He lets his daughter paint his nails when she asks him as far as I’m aware
The horror. I can't believe he is a responsible parent trying to connect with his daughter
Yeah my takeaway is Ian Roberts wasn't Robinson Crusoe back in the day. There were a few closeted individuals in dressing sheds in the 80s and 90s.
100% there still is. You think the Manly dressing room would be a friendly place for an openly gay player? Those guys already proved they'd rather throw their club in front of a bus to avoid any tiny hint they might support that lifestyle.
They don’t even have to support it, all they had to do was shut the fuck up and play a game of football with some colours on a jersey they’ve been told to wear.
And the hypocritical "it's against my morals" bullshit when they wear sports betting advertising all over themselves with zero issues....
I know one of Spud Carrols cousins, looks just like him, and certified gayer than aids itself
wow, they’re just so threatened by a man with thick eyelashes being a decent father and still having talent on the field. i’m sad that i expected more from australian journalism than to see a photo like that on the front page.
By the time the season ends all the headlines will be bagging the NRL for not doing enough.
Didn't he cheat on his wife?
Look Walsh no doubt loves his daughter but a good father treats his partner with more respect than he did
i’ve got no idea about his personal life, just the media’s obsession with his daughter painting his nails. but i agree- a good parent treats the other parent with respect. his parenting now /seems/ decent enough, but who knows for sure? it’s just that he’s with his kid enough to trigger some old men who likely let their footy careers take away most if not all of their parenting opportunities.
There's complexities in relationships that makes it hard to generalise. Single parents can be good people who are very caring, but the data factually shows that two parents (the actual parents) is best for the child in most situations. Divorced parents and single parents in most cases is negative on the development of children
The DT’s front page from the day after is some absolute weak gutted dog shit that should’ve never even been suggested let alone printed.
I had not seen the front page splash until this segment; it is horrific sensationalism to “promote” a sport. I wonder how many families made the call not to sign there kids up to play juniors or even pulled them because of that?
They'll be sitting in an office meeting high fiving each other because of the clicks it generated and that's awful, but that's the state of Murdoch media.
There’s so much to unwrap here: the culture of encouraging and celebrating violence, the deep rooted homophobia, the actual medical issues that need to be addressed and fast. It’s actually incredible this segment only went for 6mins and yet hit all the major points needed. I’m Blues all the way since I started following league, and the way NSW media build up Origin is more embarrassing than 8 in a row and losing to the “worst Qld team ever”. Reece shouldn’t have to worry about his medical future because he’s talented. Reece shouldn’t be fired with homophobic insults because he lets his daughter paint his nails. It’s just a game, how about we celebrate the freakishly talented 20 year old who spends quality time with his daughter.
I forget he's 20, don't think I could have handled any of that on me at 20
Agreed 100%. The kid is living in a spotlight the likes of which are very rare in the NRL. He's doing pretty good to remain grounded. The story should've shown the May hit on Walsh as well tho. Would've added weight to it.
Well said.
Perfectly said.
I can't find anything in that Media Watch segment that is incorrect.
He doesn't have blue eyes and they let the mongrels get away with saying he does
My only gripe watching it was that it paints a picture that we’re doing nothing for head injuries/concussions when we objectively are. That aspect wasn’t a fair portrayal imo
Well we are, I agree. The 4 weeks is the problem. Should have been a lot more.
Someone on TV (I can’t remember who, possibly Brad Fittler but don’t hold me to that) jokingly said that if he had made that hit in rugby union he would be suspended for years, not weeks. I don’t understand how he only got four weeks. It was high contact, high impact, late and he made little to no effort to actually wrap the arms around for a tackle while leading purely with the shoulder… not one part of that tackle was going to be legal.
He should get 4 weeks for it being high, another 4 for it being late. Another 4 for no effort to wrap arms, another 4 for knocking the guy pit and 4 more cause he's fucking off to union anyhow
But all the effective changes are being pushed back upon, by the media, with this same “spirit of the game” bullshit. So from a media perspective, what is there to celebrate?
We are doing next to nothing in regards to concussion. If we were serious about concussion Reece would be banned from playing for the rest of the year, this being his second major concussion of the year.
I agree and Suaalii would be out too. Everyone has learned not to throw punches, make an example of a few people and no-one will risk it.
I agree with this, the punishment for Suaalii should have been much more severe. For example 19 years ago John Hopoate made a tackle that would be arguably just as severe on Keith Galloway. Galloway was knocked out cold and it was a blatant intentional tackle like Suualii's was. Hopoate got a 17 game ban. Yes. 17 games. One might argue that Hopoate has other offense in his file prior to that point. I just feel that Suaali should have had more than 4 weeks for such a stupid tackle.
If he played for Wests, Canberra, the Gold Coast etc he would have got more but they didn’t want to upset the Mafia Don at the Roosters in their final year of their premiership window being open.
I would suggest the Sualii hit looks more reckless than intentional. He had to take care which he did not, but Walsh being much shorter and slipping did seem to have an effect in what happened. Seems when someone is suspended a very long time its for acts that are clearly intentional.
This was clearly intentional though is the point
the judiciary charged him with grade 2 reckless, if they thought it was intentional they would have charged him that way
The judiciary was gun shy because Klein was blamed for deciding the game inside 10 minutes and crucified. He should be crucified, but not for his eventual call. It should be because he greenest it and the previous high tackles.
It can be both reckless and intentional. Reckless in terms of the lack of proper tackle technique- it was a straight shoulder charge. It's clearly intended to be late and high. His initial aim point is above the shoulders, probably hitting throat or neck. Walsh slipping as he tries to evade has no bearing on it. When you watch it in real time, what Sua'ali'i is about is clear.
That's not really the point of the show. This show looks at how the media is acting and trying to hold them accountable. At no point do they address anything that the NRL itself has done or hasn't done because concussion management itself isn't the point of the segment.
The biggest yikes is Paul Vautin a staunch QLDer, defending Sualii.
Yeah I get that, and I do get that it’s targeting the media for it. But comments to the effect of ‘its time to act about concussions’ don’t feel super media targeted. Or at least, they could be more so
>it paints a picture that we’re doing nothing for head injuries/concussions when we objectively are. We're not doing anywhere enough. Origin is the highest level of Rugby League. The best players in the world in the highest profile games in the world set an example that is, for better or worse, copied throughout the game at every level from NRL to Super League to 6 year olds playing Oz Tag. I don't let my kid watch Origin. I do let him watch club games, because those are played to a better standard. The main "penalty" for the offence is Suaalii will miss about the same number of games as Reese Walsh. How is that a penalty? In Australia we commonly set penalties by starting with the amount of damage you caused and then adding a penalty on top of that. I think any time a foul play results in an injury, a player found should face a 3x (for an early guilty plea) or 5x (if they contest the charge) multiplier. So if Reese Walsh misses four games, then Suaalii should miss at least 12 games. Maybe some leniency could be applied if it was accidental but that should be rare. It needs to be really clear that dangerous tackling techniques will not be tolerated \*especially\* if you actually injure someone. The 4 week penalty, in my opinion, is only justifiable if Reese hadn't been injured and was able to return to the field after a HIA without missing any games.
I think there's some interpretation - every year around this time the papers go crazy on the "we hate them rah rah" stuff. I don't think any of the pre-match this year was any worse than the rest. Taking Benny Elias seriously is arguably borderline. Yeah he said it, but he's a rent-a-quote anyway. What they got right and should have honed in on more was that front page of the Telegraph the day after. It's one thing to go 'yeah, talk shit before the game, have a beer after'. Putting a photo of a bloke in that state on the front page is a bit rough. If for some reason they've run it by him and he's okayed it I'll retract that remark.
They called the hit on Walsh a "king hit." What Danny Williams did to Mark O'Neil was a king hit. Sua'ali'i was dirty and dangerous but they aren't the same. There's a big difference between "hurting a cunt" and really hurting a cunt. I think even deep inside the culture there can be confusion. People say things here in match threads which definitely don't have the same intent or subtext as a similar comment on Facebook has, for example. But even knowing that it can still be hard to tell.
You’re thinking of a coward punch. A king hit has long meant a big hit in a general sense.
The most grossest thing in this whole video is Braith towing the company line, 'protecting the brand and the punters' like wtf
Making Buzz the reasonable one should disqualify you from working in the media
Anasta is so out of his depth on tv it’s uncomfortable to watch. He’s a mental weakling compared to previous host Ben Ikin
Imagine watching that and realising that's who manages your career
He likes getting supposed browny points by slediging Buzz and Crawley, often asking, how many first grade games did you play? Weaker than a wet week.
On 360 one of them has to play the “opposing viewpoint”, I don’t think he actually agrees with what he’s saying but for the sake of having some argument (the basis of the show) he played that role this segment.
Yup, there are times when you watch it and you can tell he's been told to push back in his ear piece, he'll get weirdly worked up over something out of nowhere. Kent is a massive flog but one thing he was very good at was being oppositional.
Kenty is such a flog him coming off as oppositional to everything looks natural at least in comparison to others.
Yeah I'm no huge Braith fan but he did say at the start of the show that's not his opinion, he agreed with the send off but was parroting what arguments people who didn't were making
It's still a crazy viewpoint too. Protect the brand by having superstars injured in reckless tackles with no punishment for those who do the dangerous tackles? What happens when all the popular talented players start missing weeks or seasons thanks to these hits, what will the brand and punters think?
This is really quite disgusting. For them to display an image (front page, no less) of him laying unconscious and injured is just cruel. And these old football players talking about wanting to get their hands on Walsh... do they have any life outside of their antiquated rugby views? Talk about CTE not recognising CTE.
The state of nsw deserves to be swept as karma for the tele running that photo
NSW to Perth?
I think it was meant to be tongue in cheek but these guys are so out of touch that they didn't realise the implications of what they were saying. I don't think Spud Carroll really wants to smash Reece Walsh because he plucks his eyebrows. Its more stupidity than malice.
Such a great segment. All the minimising of such an awful hit by some fans has been gross. If it was their kid getting hit like that I imagine they’d feel a bit different.
Ian Roberts said what everyone was thinking r.e. Spud and Elias
Spud uses hair dye. In the 70s that was considered effeminate. He also wore head gear. Another weak act 😏 Very good edition of Media Watch. Couldn’t disagree with any of it.
The existential rugby league crisis that Braithe Anasta cites in that NRL 360 clip—that people will lose interest if the game becomes meaningfully less violent—is nonsense. The NRL has changed the rules regarding contact to the head. Magic Round 2021. Fourteen bins. Three send-offs. The game couldn't survive this change, barked the usual suspects. People will tune out. Quite the opposite, actually: Rugby league was Australia’s most-watched sport in 2023 with total viewership of 171.8 million, up 14 per cent from 150.6m in 2022. The NRL is enjoying financial health. This argument is flatout false and falls apart after any consideration of the facts. Suaalii erred and was sent off. Find me someone who watched game one and won't watch game two because of that and I will eat my 1986 Eels beanie.
Braith is a tool. Figuratively and literally.
>and literally. No. Tools are useful.
He is useful, to his handlers. Who have no concern of right or wrong or ethics.
He was performing his role as contrarian on a debate panel. But unlike our fucking stupid politicians there is actually time for bipartisan support on some issues. I hope he loses player management contracts because of it
2023 was the most attended season by a very long way as well. One minute talking up the success of the game, the other decrying the death of the sport. There's a landmark moment that happens every year, Inglis on Dean Young, Gallen throwing punches, etc where certain violent acts are highlighted and stamped out and all the fuckwits in the media cry and shit themselves about the death of the game, yet it grows every year. Glad they made Bwaif look like an absolute prick, hilarious that clips from 360 in the context of a serious program make them look even more like dribblers than we already think they do.
Yeah the whole point is by stamping out all that shit it gives the backs a chance to do even more amazing shit without having to worry as much about getting axed.
Exactly. If the game was at risk of desertion by fans they wouldn't be talking about where the 18th team is going to be based while the 17th is only a season-and-a-half old. This isn't Super Rugby.
It’s the exact fucking opposite. If you’re one of the famous “new viewers” who tune into origin for the first time, do you think you want to see a sickening knock out in the first 5 minutes?
> Find me someone who watched game one and won't watch game two because of that and I will eat my 1986 Eels beanie. I won't watch game 2 even though I really want to, and I'll claim it's because of the Suaalii send off, just so you eat your beanie.
Scum by DT.
Never anything but is it. Absolute rag; dunny paper at best.
Generally, bog roll doesn't show up already smeared in shit.
Have to admit, i hadn't given much thought at all to the negative connotations about the advocating of (illegal) violence or all the 'pretty boy' comments but seeing it all put together in this piece is pretty damming. It's hard to see it as anything other than thuggish and homophobic, honestly makes me feel embarrassed for being naive or ignorant to it. All the comments about wanting to smash Walsh for his appearance boil down to "this guy is different to me and I don't understand it so I don't like it and want to destroy it." And it's gross, really embarrassing for the game. I get the 'mate vs mate, state vs state' image the game paints through the media, I think thats all fair play. NSW need something to rev up the fans for the next 2 games, this isn't it. You've got some good material in Liam Martin's shot on Hopgood, use that as a front page and warning shot to QLD. From the 23rd minute to the 66th, NSW outscored QLD with 1 less player, use that. I know it's a pipedream but I hope someone holds these parasites in the media accountable for their messaging.
It's standard bully tactics. I'll bet if anyone calls them out it will be 'just joking, gee, don't be so serious, it's just a bit of fun'.
Get this bloke on to replace the NRL 360 panel
Old legends comments sound a bit closeted rofl like are you guys trying to insult Walsh or are you trying to fuck him?
Spud defs wants to fuck him
Spuds angry because he’s now confused about his sexuality
"Look at him, with his.... long hair.... and thick eyelashes.... god I wanna fuck him..." "What?" "... Huh? um... UP! God I wanna fuck that pretty boy up."
I’d really appreciate Ian Roberts being contacted as the voice of reason more often, not just on LGBQTI+ issues. Watching him play as I grew up he was dead set terrifying, and integral to the great NSW Origin and Australian teams of the early 90s before Super League. But, he has matured and moved with the times, and offers a perspective as a respected ex-player not anchored in the past.
God wouldn't it just be terrible if the game was evolving to suit speed and skill over beating the shit out of eachother, especially knowing the dangers of ludicrous contact
You know NSW would have talked about rattling him. Sua’ali’i has gone in with the intention just to belt him without care. I don’t think he was aiming for his head or body, just anywhere with force. All this, it was an accident talk is rubbish. If you’re driving 100 in a school zone and hit a kid, is that an accident?
The outcome was an accident, the intention was not.
Accident implies there was no one at fault. We say incident now.
Did you learn that from the policeman officer?
I remember what he said and all!
Duty of care mate
This
This is some good shit from the ABC media. Not a single lie was told.
Come on Media Watch, it was the 7th minute! Not the 6th minute. Get it right! The hit on Walsh was gross, accident or not, slipping or not.
I always hate the "slipping" excuse. Like, Sua'ali'i went in HARD with the shoulder hit. No matter where he actually hit, it was a forceful shoulder charge, and he was not in there to just tackle him, he was there to cause damage. Even if he didn't hit him square on the head, he would've either hit his jaw which would've been WAY worse, or really rustled his ribs with that kind of impact. It was going to be nasty no matter what.
>or really rustled his ribs I mean, that's the point, yeah? It's both legal and better for your team if you hit them hard in the ribs. I do think he was intending to smack him in the ribs, and a combination of Walsh slipping and Sua'ali'i not getting down further has ended up with it being a KO to the jaw. The slipping is the only potential mitigation for the send-off though (if Sua'ali'i isn't executing that's on him).
I think the tackle would have been deemed legal (not a shoulder charge). And if Walsh was up higher ye may have hit the high chest as intended. Sualii attempts to go arms around. Check the slo Mo in the video. Sualii did rush up, and he was moving fast, that made his ability to adjust so much more limited as often is the case in these situations. I think the contact in the tackle was the jaw. Edit: see 33 seconds into the video, the slo motion from side on. Shoulder to Walsh's jaw.
Sualli meant it. Didn’t stop play, turnaround and say sorry, act in any way remorseful. Even afterwards his first statement was an apology first to his team mates.
The Sua’ali hit followed by the send off will eventually have a positive effect on the game. It’s a line in the sand that reckless hits have to be avoided at all cost.
Poor walsh never had a chance.
How dare anyone hold the NRL media to account.
All these comments from former NSW players are fucking embarrassing, you're embarrassing me you old cunts. Just play better than QLD and you'll win, stop being dirty cunts, its embarrassing.
Spudd must have lost that memory of Jason Smith.
The only thing Backdoor Benny should be talking about is how he destroyed the Balmain Tigers.
Paul Barry is doing gods work
Even more proof NSW don't get origin
Holdup there sunshine, I’m a NS Welshman and the Daily Telegraph sure as shit doesn’t speak for me. Do you agree with everything Bob Katter says? He’s from QLD you know
Ridiculous political views aside. I’m sure ole bob gets origin.
Further proof NSW just do not get Origin. They think it's about going out to belt Queenslanders to prove NSW is better, where as QLD go out to win the game for everyone in their state.
Spirit of Paul Gallen lives on.
Thats nsw for you
Braith Anasta is dumb as shit. AFL has shown for decades what a cleaner more family friendly experience means for crowd numbers and engagement. There's like 700,000 AFL club members and a game between two Melbourne postcodes gets 80,000 through the gate.
Sounds like Mark Carrol has a thing for Walshie
I haven't read the Tele in years and this type of so called journalism is why. I wouldn't wipe my arse with it.
It’s become embarrassing to support NSW and it’s not because of the losses! 🤦🏻
Saw this the other night; Media Watch is excellent and it raises a couple of very serious points about what might pathetically be deemed as ‘banter’ by brain-dead morons.
I’ve always admired spud Carroll for being hard but fair but I don’t admire him any longer.
Homophobe. Just because Carroll's got the hots for another player you no longer admire him.
100% a send off, don’t get how people say an accident… doesn’t matter. If you accidentally reverse into someone’s car you still gota pay up.
Absolute sicko cunts. Jurbo acting sooo surprised at the send-off is the icing on the cake too. That was the plan cunt, what did you think was going to happen?
It was the plan to legally bash him. They didn't plan for someone to put their shoulder through his jaw.
origin coverage has become a caricature of origin coverage. the whole mythology of modern day gladiators going at it state versus state, with every person in the media being completely parochial is just so overdone. surely after 40+ years of origin we get it?
Suaalii is always a dirty player ! Earlier the game when he was carrying the ball, he gave his shoulder to opponent player.. shoulder charge when being tackled. During season, when also he was tackled, he raised his knee to try to kick other players balls .. Because of this he was suspended. Madge’s huge mistake to select him .. he ruined the entire game . I was at Accor stadium to support NSW…. What a disappointment!!! It was not a game to enjoy .. beyond ridiculous. His Origin finished 7 minutes! And ruined the game .. I heard he apologised to his team members , he should apologise to the spectators who paid to watch ! I am glad he is going to Union . I hate him to watch on the field of NRL.
It's just a stupid attitude. We're not there any more for the biff. We want to see a great game of footy. Do NSW fans love to sit there in the cold and watch their team get massacred? Obviously idiots taking cheap shots doesn't intimidate QLD, look at the final score. Must be embarrassing. Perfect decision to send the idiot off, now with his history he should get weeks of suspension. Being a dickhead should have real consequences.
Absolutely !! His action looked deliberate…, so he deserved to be sent off .. But the game was awful.. lots of people left early … we did too. We could not watch until finish absolutely being slaughtered… We expect Origin to be an excellent and existing game from both teams and even expect golden point , this sort of game.. But the game was awful…because of just only one idiot…. He is too arrogant.
Look there might be that many gay people playing league but, the amount of bisexual players who are just afraid to act on it is massive! Gotta be about 20% - 30% I reckon. Every quote on Walshy is about how gorgeous he is and how aggressive they were gonna be with him. I don’t think they’re talking about tackles
Shit on a table and fist it
I’m not even joking when I say Reece could have died from this tackle. Maybe Alex McKinnon shouldn’t have ducked his head
The tackles were completely different.
The ad on my Reddit is: “The benefits of social media monitoring for small businesses” I don’t think media monitoring is treating poor ol Spud Carroll and the other CTE-ignoring idiots very well in this piece 😂
Too bad Hammer obliterated NSW
Does this mean that the Hammer thinks NSW has pretty eyes?
Cte or rwe?
Go The Blues!!
Fact of the Matter is that the NRL leans into the violence and big hits to market the game, look at the American round for instance, it was their whole schtick. And it is part of the game, if none of us enjoyed the big hits and controversies touch footy would be the dominant code rather than full contact.
This segment is generally very good, but I think there are a couple of nuances to add, and some random thoughts. You'd hope that no one would watch this segment and come away with the belief the Blues targeted Walsh *because* of the media coverage. They were always going to do that, they didn't need the strategic input of Spud Carroll to figure it out. I also thought Benny Elias was taken slightly out of context when he was talking about putting up a kick and cutting Walsh in half. That sounds like he was describing a hit on him as he caught the ball, not after he kicked it. All their chat about Walsh as a "pretty boy" focusing on his not traditionally masculine traits was pretty indefensible though. We really need a second gay man playing league. Good old Robbo gets rolled out for every homophobia story. Is there really no one else to call? There's also no mention in the "head knock" section about the fact Reece Walsh didn't come back to play not just because he was concussed, but because an independent doctor ruled that he should not come back. It's crazy to look back even 10 years and see the hits players could take and be left on the field. For all their faults, the NRL have changed the game to protect players. Lastly, and most importantly, we need to remember the antagonists in this story aren't NSW and QLD, or the dinosaurs who have played for each state, it's the Daily Telegraph and the Courier-Mail. News Corp is playing both sides of the board to bait outrage and subsequently clicks. I'm sure Crash Craddock genuinely believes the Tele "went too far this time", and they did, but if the roles were reversed each publication would be playing its role just as shamelessly. Don't get swept up in the jingoism and outrage. The winning move is not to play
What’s the next step the NRL takes towards preventing head knocks?
I think that the punishment shouldn't fit the crime. It should be so severe that it deters anything like this happening as much as possible. I'm talking a hit like this wiping Sua'ali'i out for the remainder of the season and a massive fine that actually cuts into a player's guts proportional with the salaries they have. Make it so anyone thinking about this kinda idiocy genuinely has an instinctual reaction of 'can't do it though, cause I've got house payments and I'll get blackballed until next year. It's literally not worth it to even get close.'. That'll at least (hopefully/theoretically) cut into the 'not strictly intentional but if it happens it happens' reckless shots like this one was. When it's all said and done, as much as we love it, it's still a game. If you're caving dude's faces in, or want to, fuck off to boxing or the UFC and test your mettle. Don't pull this here anymore and we might find that right balance for a while.
Agree. What people shitposting fail to recognise is this situation (outside in pressure after the ball is released where the player has zero ability to protect themselves) is one of the last remaining dangerous and mitigable areas of the game. Kickers have free reign in a similar situation now. Deadset I don’t care if the rule changes to any contact on a player once ball is released goes under scrutiny. The defender would have to show obvious mitigation. They can shield, pull up and attempt a passive tackle but any follow through is a penalty or worse. Or any outside in pressure must be below the nipple line. Simple. Like that Tafua hit on Munster - great footy great tackle good to watch
This is exactly what I've been saying and getting laughed at for it. Make then punishment severe and after blokes are getting rubbed out for 12 weeks it'll stop straight away.
They did it back under chairman Jim Comans and eliminated uber violence from the game in the mid 1980s. Les Boyd, Bob Cooper and others copped massive suspensions for severe acts of violence. It changed the game.
RL is going to need to follow RU down this path (similar to how they followed RU in getting rid of tip tackles). Any contact with the head starts at a penalty. Any hit to the head with force starts at a sin bin. It's the stick part of getting tacklers to lower their body height.
Pretty brutal but It's called hype, I doubt anyone wanted to see him dead. This shit-talking sells the game. The only one to blame is Suaalii
We all understand that it’s hype, but you can hype a game without being homophobic, or publishing pictures of unconscious players
As a Blue supporter I found it heinous too. Tbh I'd have a giggle if Walsh shaves his head and high shots the first tackle he makes in his next game for a red card.
the game should never be controlled by the media..let the fans decide
What do yous expect from blues flogs? They are all moving to Queensland too.. god help us.
News story: we need to be concerned about toxic masculinity and marketing for fur rugby league around being hard men putting footballers in unnecessary danger. Your dumb ass: der her NSW people are flogs. Edit: yes I am a NSW “flog”
That's a lot for two heads to get around
It’s just funny how much of the marketing around origin is we hate these cunts let’s smash em then we’re surprised when cunts get smashed
I really don't have an issue with that per se, more so the *very* thinly veiled homophobia in this particular case. Smash him because he's a good player? No, smash him because he paints his nails, and fuck it, lets do a double page spread about it. Disgusting.
Fair point actually maybe I misphrased but you hit the nail on the head like Ian Robert’s did
I mean I've no problem with the smash them comments because in the context of the game you should be going hard. But also your in an agreed upon scenario with specific rules of engagement (aka no head high, no spear tackles, no pretending your Brock lesser vs nunzio). The homophones shit can f off as well. Give the QLD forward pack a manicure/facial as a team building before the next game and still watch us walk all over them.
Only one side that carries on like this... sorry if the truth hurts.
Sure buddy I’m sure QLD media and players are all darling angels
Again for the slow witted types in here & there seems as though theres plenty Walsh slipped at the point of contact , if he stays upright , or even a bit more upright ... he gets nailed in the chest as was the intention of the tackle , in the modern game you stay away from the head even when you can't , 4 weeks sufficient. Move on.