Paul Gallen rails against Nate Myles’ punishment for the incident with Joseph Suaalii on the sidelines

Rugby legend Paul Gallen has the NRLDecision not to hand over Queensland assistant coach Nate Myles at least a fine for his collision with Blues debutant Joseph SuaaliiMyles was reprimanded at the time but escaped further punishment for spraying the Roosters centre as he left the field after Country of origin I.

Suaalii’s debut for NSW lasted just seven minutes when he was given his marching orders after taking down Reece Walsh in a sickening tackle. Walsh suffered a Category 1 concussion and was ruled out for the rest of the game.

Suaalii was sent off immediately – only the sixth player in State of Origin history to suffer this fate. But as he left the field, Myles praised Suaalii as he passed and threw him a drink. He was on the sideline talking to Selwyn Cobbo, who was about to replace Walsh.

According to the Daily TelegraphMyles told Suaalii three times: “Enjoy your f***ing debut” and then received a warning for his behaviour from an NRL official on the sideline. After the game, the Roosters centre – the Leaving the NRL for Rugby Union at the end of the season – Was with a four-match ban which excludes him from Origin II and will not allow him to play for the Roosters again until Round 18.

However, Myles will be back on the bench for Queensland for the second game after not receiving any further sanctions, and his former Origin opponent Gallen says he deserves punishment for his actions as he should simply know better.

“I thought that was normal,” Gallen said on Nine is 100% football. “Nate is in a privileged position there and as we know, Nate Myles was a great player and he gave everything he could on the football field, but when you’re in a position like that, you can’t let your emotions get the better of you and he let his emotions get the better of him.

“If you let your emotions get the better of you, you should sit behind the fence and blend in with the crowd. I think he’s very lucky he didn’t get a fine. In my opinion, he definitely should have been fined.”

“Imagine if he had said that to Spencer Leniu or Liam Martin or any of the big guys coming off the field. I think he saw an opportunity to attack a young guy who would have been pretty intimidated by the situation and he took it. I thought that was pretty normal behavior. I’d like to think Nate, being the guy he is, would regret what he did and I can’t believe he didn’t get a fine.”

Paul Gallen says the dispute with Nate Myles is behind him

Gallen and Myles have a history together, with the pair famously exchanging blows during the 2013 Origin series. It was a defining moment in modern rugby league, with punches rarely thrown since then following a league crackdown. And the Sharks star insists his opinion of Myles’ actions on the sidelines has nothing to do with their past.

“I saw Nate Myles before the game, shook his hand and said hello. I have no problem with Nate at all,” he said. “I played football with him after that situation and I’ve said it before… I’m not proud of what happened, but it happened and we can’t change it. It has absolutely nothing to do with what happened then, it was more than 10 years ago. I just think he should know better in his current situation.”