New South Wales five-eighth Jarome Luai has claimed he’s ready to battle with Queensland’s Reece Walsh after the debutant pulled his hair during the Blues’ Origin I loss.
Players from both sides came together after 50 minutes, when Queensland took exception to Luai’s tackle on Reuben Cotter.
Footage showed Luai came in with a swinging arm towards the ball, but Queenslanders may have thought he connected with Cotter’s head.
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Walsh then pulled Luai off the player of the match by grabbing at his hair, before Lindsay Collins and Liam Martin then became involved in a heated exchange.
The Blues five-eighth appeared to let the referee know about the hair pull, however the match review committee made no mention of it post-game.
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Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald after full-time, Luai was critical of Walsh’s actions.
“I knew it was him too because he ran away,” Luai said.
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“He doesn’t want to (fight). I’m ready for it, I love that stuff.
“If you’re going to do that and run then that says a lot about you.”
Footage from the incident showed Walsh was still present around the melee but wasn’t directly involved as Collins and Martin took centre stage.
Luai was seen grinning at the Maroons No.1 as the referee forced the teams apart.
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