Liam Martin sends sharp message to Reece Walsh amid storm over State of Origin ‘targeting’

NSW chief enforcement officer Liam Martin has warned Queensland to expect them to target Reece Walsh, Maroons fullback again during the second match of Original state series at the MCG. Martin admits Blues got it wrong in first game after Joseph Suaalii was sent off after just seven minutes for a high shot on Walsh, but insists his team never entered the game with the intention of injuring the Maroons superstar or illegally knocking him out.

Walsh – who is expected to return for QLD at the MCG after missing Brisbane’s last two games due to the NRL’s concussion protocols – once again emerges as one of the biggest threats for NSW. And Martin makes no apologies for the fact that his Blues team identified the dangerous man and formulated strategies to limit his effectiveness.

Walsh was hit hard by Martin after the first kick of the game in the Origin series opener, before being felled by Suaalii’s strike six minutes later. And while Martin admits his teammates will have to do a better job of controlling their aggression and playing within the laws of the game, he says Walsh can expect to be targeted like all the best players are.

“I treat it exactly the same. It doesn’t change,” Martin said. “He’s such a key to them that we’re going to go after him. We’re obviously not going out there intentionally to hurt him. It’s part of the game. Nothing’s going to change.” Martin admitted there was “a fine line” between controlled aggression and foul play, but stressed that accidents are part of football.

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“It’s a fine line because it’s a game with the lowest margins,” Martin added. If someone falls and you cut them high, otherwise it would have been a good shot. You try to be physical and, even if accidents happen, you just do your best not to put yourself or others in those situations. I definitely wasn’t there to hurt him (with the pressure of my kick) or anything like that. It’s just football and you’re trying to be physical.”

Maroons Grands and Assistant Coaches Johnathan Thurston and Nate Myles both suggested NSW had deliberately targeted Walsh. during the first match. But NSW coach Michael Maguire hit back angrily at suggestions Suaalii made to injure the player and accused Queenslanders of living in “glass houses” during a fiery spat on Monday.

The drama set the stage for an explosive second game of the series in Melbourne on June 26. Martin says he is sure the Maroons will identify Blues players to target at the MCG and his NSW second-row partner Angus Crichton agreed, after making a point. to defend his Roosters teammate Suaalii amid a wave of backlash.

“You have to put pressure on anyone. It’s crazy that everyone is trying to say we were trying to hurt him,” Crichton said of the Walsh incident. “It was a split decision Joey got it wrong, I hope Reece recovered well. It’s sport, everyone has game plans where they figure out where they want to attack.”

Paul Gallen denounces “ridiculous” debate before Origin Game 2

New South Wales great Paul Gallen also weighed in on the drama this week and said it was “ridiculous” for anyone to suggest players would deliberately injure their opponents through acts of foul play. Gallen said that while Thurston and Myles didn’t say that exactly, he believed it was widely alluded to.

“I think it’s absolutely ridiculous to think that in this day and age someone would go on the pitch and use foul play to take anyone out of the game,” Gallen said on Nine’s 100% Footy. “I’ve been involved in the game for over 25 years now and not once during my NRL career have I ever had a coach, manager, trainer or other player say to me ‘Let’s go get this guy and do something for him to get him out of the game.’

“Especially the way the game is refereed and run these days, the number of cameras, (it’s) absolutely insane (to think that). So I really hope the Queensland coaching staff wouldn’t think that. I can’t believe that in this day and age they think something like this could happen.

with PAA