Queensland coach Billy Slater has leapt to the defence of his 2023 State of Origin winning fullback Reece Walsh.
Walsh has been suspended for three games and will miss the Origin finale following his vulgar spray in Round 17 against the Titans.
Accused of delivering an expletive-laden comment to referee Chris Buttler, Walsh later revealed it was intended for teammate Patrick Carrigan.
Being found guilty of the charge despite supporting testimonies from Carrigan and Maroons teammate David Fifita, Walsh has opened the door for AJ Brimson to replace him as fullback for Origin 3.
While Slater said there is no excuse for the stars actions he does admit he needs to improve in his discipline.
โI actually believe his side of the story that he was directing those comments to Pat Carrigan, but at the end of the day he needs to own that and be better at that,โ Slater said.
โHe won't play the victim, he'll go and be better at this area of his game and he'll get a chance to play for Queensland again, there's nothing surer of that.
โSometimes we forget that when young players come into the game and they play to such a high standard that we forget how young they are and that they've still got development left in them.
โThat's a development area that Reece will focus on, he'll be better at this in the future."
Slater continued to say how disappointing the events were considering Walsh's work to be put in the origin frame, but will no doubt still thank the 20-year-old for helping win the series just two games in.
