In front of a packed Accor Stadium crowd, NSW lost to QLD in game one of the 2024 Ampol State of Origin series, 10-38. Moreover, the score was the highest the Maroons have scored in NSW.

However, the game wasn’t without drama. Less than ten minutes in, the Blues were reduced to 12 men when Joseph Sua’ali’i was sent off for a high, late hit on Maroons fullback Reece Walsh, which led to Walsh being concussed and sent off the field after displaying category one symptoms.

Sua’ali’i won’t be playing in game two of the Origin series in Melbourne. The NRL match review committee charged Sua’ali’i with a grade-two reckless high tackle, and faces four to five weeks on the sidelines for his hit on Walsh. Despite the loss, Blues coach Michael Maguire was “super proud” of his team’s efforts.

“I just spoke to the players about how hard they wanted to work for each other throughout the game. We actually put ourselves in positions at times where we were quite dominant,” he said. “But I guess fatigue comes in at some stage. When you’re playing with a man down, you’ve got to really try and bury the opposition in the corners, and fatigue finds you at some stage.”

Moreover, Blues captain Jake Trbojevic was stunned by the decision to send off Sua’ali’i. In the post-match press conference, he said, “It was a tough one. I didn’t expect him to get sent off, if I’m being honest, just probably because of the enormity of the game. But that’s the way it went.”

The Blues didn’t give up and put in effort all night. At halftime, they had made 24 play-the-balls inside the Maroons’ 20, with the Maroons only making one. They will now be hoping to win game two in Melbourne on Wednesday, June 26.

Featured image: State of Origin game 1 at Queensland Country Bank Stadium. Photo by:
Kobokem2021/ C/C Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International