GREEN LIGHT FOR JARROD
Gold Coast NRL star Jarrod Wallace escapes shoulder charge ban and can line up for Maroons in State of Origin II
JARROD Wallace is free to make his Origin debut after he was last night cleared by the judiciary to help restore Queensland pride in Game Two of the series.
The Gold Coast Titans prop said he was excited to face the Blues next Wednesday night after he was found not guilty of a Grade One shoulder charge on Warriors centre Blake Ayshford.
The news is a massive boost not just for Wallace but also for the Queensland team.
Had Wallace been found guilty last night, he would have been ruled out for two games, including the do-or-die clash with NSW. But after a successful argument from Queensland Law Group director Steven Johnson, Wallace has been given the all-clear to make his debut.
“I’m excited now,” a relieved Wallace said last night from Sydney.
“(The charge) has been a real dampener on things not knowing what my fate was going to be. But I’ve got nothing stopping me now.
“I’m very stoked they made the call.”
Johnson, also the chairman of the Ipswich Jets, argued Wallace did everything he could to minimise the impact of his hit on Ayshford in Saturday’s loss to the Warriors, and that the 25-year-old showed a duty of care.
Johnson argued there were “unavoidable circumstances’’ and the contact was more of a “glancing blow’’.
“It’s Blake Ayshford that comes into contact with Jarrod,’’ Johnson said.
“We’re talking about less than half a second.
“Rugby league is contact sport, and no matter how much education and training you give to the players, it’s a fast-moving environment where accidents happen.
“Blake Ayshford finishes on his back, but we believe it was a glancing blow, not forceful contact.’’
Despite the good result, the panel still took close to half an hour to deliberate before delivering the decision all Queenslanders wanted to hear.
“It took forever,” Wallace said.
“It was very nerve-wrecking. I was sweating bullets.
“I don’t think you’re ever confident going into those things. I know we had a good case to go forward with because I knew I was bracing myself from the start.
“But I was still never confident.
“I can concentrate on getting into camp properly now.
“I’m just looking forward to getting back into Brisbane.”
Wallace will re-join the Maroons in camp today before travelling back to Sydney on Monday for the highly-anticipated Game Two.
He was one of four new faces named in Kevin Walters’ team for Origin II as Queensland look to level up.