Andrew Kellaway sledged a bloodied Harry Wilson as Saturday night's Queensland vs NSW Super Rugby Pacific clash lived up to the pre-match hype.
Waratahs fullback Kellaway was yellow carded in the first half for lifting Reds No.8 Wilson above the horizontal in a dangerous tackle.
The Wallabies teammates exchanged plenty of chat as Kellaway trudged off the park and showed no deference to his Test captain – who angrily pointed him towards the sideline.
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Harry Wilson and Andrew Kellaway. Stan
"It's got some spice in it," Stan Sport's Justin Harrison reported from the sideline in Brisbane.
"I tell you what, Andy Kellaway, the whole time he was walking off the field, he's given lip service to Harry Wilson.
"Harry Wilson was going back at him. Kellaway's reminding him in a very succinct, short, sharp manner, that he's a forward and he should be tougher than that. It's fantastic."
Wilson got his revenge, however, as he scored a try shortly after Kellaway returned from his 10 minutes on the sidelines.
"A bit of mate v mate, state v state," Wilson told Stan Sport afterwards.
"When you're competing against each other hard, you say a few words and give them a hug after and I love him.
"That's why I was shouting. I was so angry – smoked by Kellaway!"
Waratahs winger Triston Reilly had stunned the hosts with a third minute try but Reds fullback Heremaia Murray responded with a clever chip and chase try to expose the NSW backfield.
Reserve Reds hooker Richie Asiata then scored from a dominant, long range rolling maul to give Les Kiss' side a commanding 21-8 lead at half time.
Queensland went on with the job to complete a 35-15 win and hand NSW their first loss of the season.
Tom Lynagh converted all five of Queensland's tries.
The Reds played in front of 20,072 fans, their biggest Super Rugby crowd at Suncorp Stadium since 2021.
REDS 35 (Murray, Wilson, Asiata, McReight, Blyth tries; Lynagh 5 con) WARATAHS 15 (Reilly, Gleeson tries; Creighton pen; Edmed con)