Queensland fullback Reece Walsh will miss the third State of Origin match after being handed a three-match ban for his profane outburst at referee Chris Butler.
The suspension of the in-form Walsh is a blow to the Maroons’ hopes of sealing a rare series whitewash in Sydney on July 12 and pits Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and AJ Brimson against one another in a battle for the coveted fullback jersey.
Walsh’s predecessor Kalyn Ponga has already ruled himself out of the Origin series to focus on club duties with Newcastle.
After a hearing that lasted two hours and forty minutes, the two-man judiciary panel of Penrith great Tony Puletua and Sean Hampstead deliberated for an hour but could not reach a unanimous verdict.
Judiciary chair Geoff Bellew SC cast a deciding vote, satisfied that on the balance of probability, Walsh had yelled “what the f*** do you mean, c***?” at Butler after he blew a penalty, not at teammate Patrick Carrigan as the defence claimed.
“I’m disappointed in the outcome but I accept the decision of the panel,” Walsh said.
“Obviously I know that I’m a role model to young kids and the community. I’m going to continue to work hard on being better in those areas that I need to get better in.”
The incident took place in the 74th minute of Brisbane’s loss to Gold Coast on Sunday, and led the NRL to refer Walsh directly to the judiciary panel on a contrary conduct charge.
After Walsh was ruled to have obstructed Titans defenders from tackling Broncos winger Selwyn Cobbo, Butler halted play.
He was confronted by Walsh with claims he had stopped before the ball-carrier gained an advantage, with the fullback swearing at him after a penalty was blown.
The case of defence counsel Nick Ghabar hinged on the claim that Walsh had actually directed his comment at Carrigan, who had approached him after play had stopped.
Walsh said Carrigan had approached him and told him to “slow your f***ing brain” so as not to give away more penalties, to which Walsh claimed he reacted with his profanity.
“We’re honest with each other and we can have tough conversations,” explained Walsh.
As the two players closest to the outburst, Carrigan and Titans forward David Fifita both gave evidence via video link.
But when both admitted to having spoken to Walsh about the incident beforehand, the judiciary chose not to give weight to their testimony.
Highlights of their testimony included Carrigan holding his phone camera up to his forehead as he struggled to hear the feed’s audio and Fifita twice referring to Walsh as “Reecy Boy”.
Fifita initially said Walsh had directed his comment to the referee before backtracking when probed by Mr Bellew.
“I just get real nervous when I speak to youse,” he said.
“I just get intimidated by speaking to you because I think I’m in the wrong.”
The NRL’s counsel Patrick Knowles believed Walsh approaching the referee to clarify he had been “talking to Patty” proved the fullback knew he had gone too far in his comments to the referee.
He also questioned whether Walsh’s outburst would have been a proportional response to Carrigan approaching him to give him advice.
“It’s much more likely that person, who by his own admission can be volatile, was reacting to the referee,” Knowles said.
Knowles also lashed parts of Walsh’s evidence as “demonstrably untrue” and “frankly incredulous”, especially the suggestion he had not been complaining about the obstruction penalty when he first approached Butler.
Aside from the third Origin game, Walsh will also miss the Broncos’ clash with the Dolphins this Saturday and subsequent games against Canterbury and South Sydney.
Walsh can return early for the Rabbitohs game if the Broncos lodge an application to have Origin count towards his ban. Even if they choose not to do so, he will be unavailable for the third game of the series.
