'Wallabies supporters take a deep breath now': Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii KO'd as Reds snatch dramatic win

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii was stretchered off Allianz Stadium after a sickening clash with NSW Waratahs teammate Andrew Kellaway on Friday night.

Suaalii was trying to slow down a Queensland Reds attacking raid when his head caught Kellaway's knee, and he appeared to be knocked out immediately.

After a long delay and serious concern for Suaalii, the superstar was placed in a neck brace, put on a stretcher and driven off on a medicab.

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"All Wallabies supporters take a deep breath now," Wallabies great Tim Horan said on Stan Sport.

Darby Lancaster replaced Suaalii on the park with Kellaway switching to fullback.

Suaalii, in his first season of Super Rugby, had been in sensational form despite his team's struggles.

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He gave a thumbs up to the crowd as he was leaving the field.

Suaalii was later cleared of a serious neck injury but was diagnosed with a category one concussion.

"Concussed. He's gone home with his mum and dad. So he's improved, but yeah, it's a concussion," Waratahs coach Dan McKellar said.

McKellar said he wasn't aware of any serious damage to Suaalii's neck or jaw.

"I don't know what his background is, whether he's had many (concussions) at the Roosters or not."

The Reds won the Super Rugby Pacific match 28-21 to put NSW's season on life support.

Henry O'Donnell and Jake Gordon scored first half tries for NSW before Tate McDermott and Richie Asiata hit back for the visitors to lock it up at 14-14 at halftime.

Front-rowers Taniela Tupou and Josh Nasser then traded second-half tries as the fierce slugfest in the rain continued.

But it was a touch of class from Filipo Daugunu that ended up separating the teams.

The Reds centre saw space and weighted his kick superbly for Lachie Anderson to swoop on the right wing and score the decisive try.

"It was a war," Anderson said, before revealing he was getting married on Saturday.

"It's all over," he quipped.

The Reds are fourth on the ladder and the Waratahs are ninth.

"That one's pretty tough," Waratahs centre Joey Walton said.

Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt was watching on among 18,945 fans in Sydney as the Waratahs tried to resurrect their flagging campaign.

Instead, they slumped to their first home loss of the season.

The Waratahs now host the second placed Crusaders next Friday.

Suaalii is unlikely to be cleared for that match.

Tupou showed some encouraging signs of regaining form but blotted his copy book with a yellow card.

The prop had told the Sydney Morning Herald before the match that he wasn't playing well enough to be picked for the Wallabies.

"Luckily he's not a selector," McKellar quipped, adding that it was Tupou's best game of the season and he would be needed against the power of the British and Irish Lions.

Queensland coach Les Kiss hailed Fraser McReight's influence on the result.

McReight had a huge scrap with Waratahs No.7 Charlie Gamble all night.

"I just saw Charlie outside, I thought he was pretty good over the ball and Fraser matched him, even though we were on the back foot with that physicality early," Kiss said.

"Fraser came up with a couple of key turnovers, there were some key moments without the ball and with the ball that were critical for us tonight when we got those things right.

"But Fraser, when you get a knock like what he had in his position, there was always going to be a time to get through that for us.

"Onwards and upwards for him from now. He was bloody brilliant, bloody brilliant tonight."