In a horror start to Michael Maguire's tenure as NSW coach, Suaalii lasted just seven minutes on debut before being sent off for a late and high hit on Reece Walsh.
Joseph Suaalii gets his marching orders to become only the sixth player to be sent off in Origin. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS)
The shot made him the fastest man sent off in Origin history and it immediately ruled Walsh out of the rest of Game I, as he remained flat on the floor.
Queensland were able to bring super-sub Selwyn Cobbo off their bench and into the centres, while NSW paid the price for having no back on their bench.
Man-of-the-match Daly Cherry-Evans was brilliant for Queensland, while Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow finished with a hat-trick after being moved to fullback.
But realistically, the defining moment came when Suaalii was marched.
As NSW played one short on their right edge, Queensland ran in two first-half tries down that side with Jaydn Su'A and Cobbo both riding roughshod.
The Blues eventually shifted Stephen Crichton to right centre to shut down the Maroons' threat before half-time, but by then the damage had been done.
Queensland led 20-6 giving NSW an insurmountable mountain to climb.
The path to the Blues' first series victory since 2021 looks equally difficult for Maguire's men, with the final two games in Melbourne and Brisbane.
Only the 1994 NSW side has come back to win the series after losing the first game at home and being asked to spend the rest of the series on the road.
NSW started the better of the teams in the opening minutes on Wednesday night, winning the early territorial battle.
But when Nicho Hynes put a grubberkick dead, the Maroons went down field with Daly Cherry-Evans skipping out of dummy-half to put Ben Hunt over.
Then came the slew of points with Suaalii off the field.
Su'A and Cobbo both offloaded in the lead-up to one try for Tabuai-Fidow, while Cobbo brushed off Zac Lomax to put the fullback over for another.
And while NSW got the game back to 20-10 through tries to James Tedesco and Lomax, Queensland were able to pull away again late.
After holding out a NSW attacking raid with 13 minutes to play, Queensland went the length of the field when Cobbo and Hunt broke through the line on back-to-back plays.
Maroons skipper Daly Cherry-Evans led from the front against the Blues to be named man of the match. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS)
Cherry-Evans then put the game beyond all doubt when he intercepted an Isaah Yeo pass moments later, running 60 metres before grubber-kicking for Xavier Coates to score.
Tabuai-Fidow also bagged a third try late to seal the Maroons' biggest-ever win in Sydney.
"With (Suaalii) getting sent off we really had to try and be patient and control the game," five-eighth Tom Dearden said.
"I thought we invited them into the game a few times but it was good that we found our footy and got the job done."
On a night of few bright spots for the Blues, Lomax impressed on debut with several good runs and a second-half try from a Hynes bomb.
Tedesco also had some good moments after his rollercoaster week, chasing through on a Jarome Luai grubber to score in the first half.
And while Spencer Leniu was powerful with ball in hand and Liam Martin damaging in defence, it always appeared a task too hard.
"It was a tough night," captain Jake Trbojevic said.
"Not too much went to plan. There was a period there (after half-time) where the boys showed a lot of fight so we'll take something from that."
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