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Queensland’s 32-6 win over New South Wales finished with a brawl, but the NRL judiciary has taken a light hand with the worst cuplrits.
Jarome Luai and Reece Walsh were both sent off for their part in the brawl, the pair aiming headbutts at each other in the middle of the pack. Josh Addo-Carr also found himself sat down, binned after throwing a punch at Walsh.
The NRL judiciary opted against bans for the players – handing down financial penalties instead.
Luai and Walsh were fined 23 percent of their match fee, while Addo-Carr was fined 10 percent of his.
Walsh received a second punishment of a further seven percent of his fee for dangerous contact on Luai in the 54th minute.
The brawl was ignited by Walsh, who was felled in a collision with James Tedesco while chasing a kick, leaving both fullbacks on the deck.
The Queenslander rose and traded insults with Luai, before the Foxx chucked a right over his five eighth’s shoulder in the direction of Walsh.
Walsh then butted Luai, who returned the favour immediately. Eventually, the cavalry arrived and referee Ashley Klein regained control. When the dust had settled, Addo-Carr was dispatched for ten minutes and the other two sent off.
Walsh didn’t let the dismissal ruin his evening. He was taunting the Blues throughout, pointing at the scoreboard, beforer taking the full adulation of the Suncorp Stadium faithful on his way to the sideline. Luai, for his part, got the opprobrium of the crowd as he trudged down the tunnel.
For a series often defined by on-field violence, there have been relatively few send offs in the history of State of Origin.
Craig Greenhill was the first to go, following a high tackle in Game 2 of 1996, followed by Gorden Tallis in 2000 for calling the referee a cheat and Trent Waterhouse in 2009, the only Blue to be sent off prior to Luai.