THE secret reason behind Paul Gallen’s controversial walk-off during Cameron Smith’s Origin speech has been revealed.The retiring NSW skipper has continued to deny there was “any malice” behind his decision to turn his back on his Queensland counterpart during the post-match presentations after Origin III but Fox Sports NRL reporter James Hooper says there’s more to it.
“According to the NSW camp, Paul Gallen feels as though he was vilified and sledged throughout the course of the game,” Hooper told NRL Tonight on Thursday.
“The Queenslanders picked on him and suggested that he was responsible for the losing culture — they’ve only won one series out of 11 — and it was his farewell party, yet there weren’t that many fans there. There were only 61,000 people out there at ANZ Stadium.”
There was a tense moment on the NRL Footy Show on Thursday night when Gallen and Queensland champion Johnathan Thurston — who were on the show’s panel — were asked to discuss the controversy.
Thurston looked Gallen in the eye and told him what he thought. “I’m just a proud member of our team that has a really good winning culture,” Thurston said. “There’s no way that I’m ... having a go at anyone but as a team and as a unit, I thought it was pretty disrespectful.”
Gallen smiled after hearing Thurston’s message before attempting to smooth over the situation. “There’s definitely no malice in it whatsoever,” Gallen said. “If you heard my comments about Cameron Smith, I’ve got nothing but admiration and respect for the bloke. He’s the best player I’ve played with or against or ever seen ... There’s no way I’d disrespect that bloke. Even the Queensland team as a whole, I actually congratulated them on their win and I acknowledge that not only do they have a group of champion players but they’re also a champion team.”
