Amid accusations from Queensland that the Blues had deliberately set out to hurt Walsh, Suaalii was left facing a four-game ban after his hit collected the Maroons fullback flush on the cheek.
Maroons great Johnathan Thurston claimed NSW had gone out to target Walsh, with Suaalii getting his tackle all wrong in the early stages of Queensland's 38-10 victory in Sydney.
It leaves rugby union-bound Suaalii facing up to the prospect he may have played his first and last game for his state.
Queensland's Reece Walsh receives treatment after Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii's early hit. (Mark Evans/AAP PHOTOS)
Suaalii's ban will rub him out of game two in Melbourne while Origin III appears unlikely given he won't feature in any club matches before NSW coach Michael Maguire names his team for the final fixture in the series.
The Sydney Roosters star was shielded from the media in the immediate aftermath of the loss, but told reporters on Thursday morning he was "disappointed at letting my family, my state and my teammates (down)".
"I didn't mean that at all, I just went there to go and tackle (Walsh)," Suaalii said.
"I accidentally clipped his head and I hope he is doing all right.
"I haven't reached out to him yet but it's something I'll do."
Suaalii could have his ban beefed up to five games if he fights the grade-two reckless contact charge at the NRL judiciary and loses.
Blues players were sympathetic to Suaalii's plight after the 20-year-old became just the sixth player in Origin history to be sent off.
On his Origin debut, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii became the sixth player in series history to be sent off. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS)
Prop Payne Haas, who plays club football with Walsh at Brisbane, was understanding as Suaalii attempted to leave his mark. .
"I thought Reece slipped into it," Haas told AAP.
"I hope Walshy's all right, he's my teammate at my club, so I hope he's all right.
"(But) I feel sorry for Joey, it's a bit of a hard one. We've all got his back and I'm sure he'll be back.
"I'm not sure what he's supposed to do there to pull out."
Fellow centre Stephen Crichton added: "I tried to connect with (Suaalii) once I came back inside ... He just got his angles and that all wrong.
"He was going out there to make a play. Reece probably slipped a bit as well. He was on his way down."
