Channel Nine have pulled footage of Joseph Suaalii’s illegal tackle on Reece Walsh from its promotion of tonight’s second game in the State of Origin Series after being informed by the NRL yesterday that it was “not in the best interests of the game”.
The illegal tackle, that knocked out Walsh, took place in the seventh minute of the first game, and Suaalii was sent off for the remainder of the game—much to the dismay of Blues fans across the country.
Queensland Rugby League chairman Bruce Hatcher was appalled that the tackle was being used to promote the game. “I think it’s inappropriate and totally wrong,” Hatcher said. “There were plenty of other tackles they could have used. I hated that photo on the front page of the Daily Telegraph the next day with Reece’s eyes rolled to the back of his head”.
“I think Reece is a sensational talent. He’s a very different individual … but if we condone any action that takes those sorts of people out of the game, then I think the game is a shocking loser.”
Broadcaster Ray Hadley also called out the network for their decision to include the tackle in the footage in the first place. “Stupidly, they included the lead-up to a tackle that saw a player sent from the field and another player knocked out of the game,” he said.
“I don’t know who made that decision, but they need to have a good long look at themselves. How does that help the image of the game?”
Following public outcry, NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo reportedly contacted Nine on Tuesday and asked the broadcaster to remove the tackle from its promotional material.
“Because it was an illegal and dangerous tackle, I didn’t believe it was in the best interests of the game, nor fair on the injured player, to show [that tackle],” Abdo told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Nine has since confirmed that the footage has been removed, and the updated ad appeared on Nine’s broadcast last night.
Hatcher said he was pleased that the network had taken such swift action. “That’s good news. The game is tough enough without carrying on with that bulls–t. It only does a great disservice to the game”.
“If you did something similar on the street, you’d go to jail, so why would you allow it in our game that is already hard enough?”.
