NRL judiciary 2023: Selwyn Cobbo cleared for Brisbane, Reece Walsh early comeback

Brisbane star Selwyn Cobbo has escaped further punishment for the ugly incident which left Canterbury’s Toby Sexton concussed - and that’s not the only good judiciary news for the Broncos.

Selwyn Cobbo could be in some strife, after being sin-binned for a raised forearm.

Brisbane have received a double boost ahead of Friday night’s blockbuster against South Sydney with Selwyn Cobbo escaping punishment for raised forearm, as Reece Walsh receives the all clear for an early return.

Cobbo was sinbinned in last night’s 44-24 win over Canterbury for using his forearm and making contact with Toby Sexton’s head in a tackle.

At the time, referee Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski ruled Cobbo had made ‘direct forceful contact’ with Sexton, handing Cobbo his marching orders in controversial circumstances.

Sexton left the field with a bloody nose and didn’t return after failing his HIA. But replays showed Sexton’s bloody nose was likely the result of an incidental knee from Cobbo as the players were falling to the ground.

Selwyn Cobbo was sent to the sin-bin for this incident where he knocked Canterbury’s Toby Sexton out. Picture: NRL.COM

Queensland star Walsh will also be free to line-up against the Rabbitohs after the Broncos successfully applied to have Origin III counted towards his three-week ban.

Walsh was suspended for a foul-mouthed tirade on referee Chris Buttler in round 18 after he was found guilty on a contrary conduct charge at a marathon judiciary hearing on June 27.

Initially, the ban meant Walsh was ineligible for selection in Origin III and would be forced to serve the full suspension, ruling him out until round 22.

Sexton appeared to cop a knee from Cobbo during the collision. Picture: NRL.COM

But the Broncos argued that Walsh would have been selected for the dead rubber if he was available, and the appeal was upheld by NRL judiciary chair Justice Geoffrey Bellew.

Manly’s Reuben Garrick will be free to take on Cronulla with an early plea, and a $750 fine, on a grade one dangerous contact tripping charge against North Queensland centre Valentine Holmes.

Sydney Roosters forwards Victor Radley and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves have each copped a $3,000, with an early plea, on grade one charges.

Radley was cited for dangerous contact on Melbourne’s Cameron Munster.

While Waerea-Hargreaves was charged with tripping against hooker Harry Grant.

Victor Radley will escape a ban with an early plea. Picture: Getty

BRONCOS PUNISH DOGS IN SPITEFUL AFFAIR

By Matt Jones

Broncos star Selwyn Cobbo will have a nervous wait after he was sin binned for raising his forearm into Canterbury halfback Toby Sexton’s face in his team’s 44-24 win at Belmore Oval on Saturday.

Sexton came off with a bloody face in the 38th minute and failed his HIA which was always going to make it difficult for Canterbury to go with Brisbane.

The damage to Sexton’s face however looked to have come from an accidental knee he copped as he fell to the ground shortly after the elbow to the head.

Selwyn Cobbo could be in some strife, after being sin-binned for a raised forearm.

What might have saved Cobbo from being sent off, or from further ramifications post-game, was the fact he was the ball carrier.

There’s been plenty of conjecture about ball carriers raising their forearms into the heads of defenders this season.

Selwyn Cobbo gets sent to the bin!

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Cobbo, however, didn’t just put the bumpers up and run hard.

It was an old-fashioned lift of the foreman into the face and many of the 17,103 in attendance cheered his sin binning.

Broncos coach Kevin Walters wasn’t complaining post-game. “I suppose he did get him in the chops so a sin bin is probably a fair reflection on that,” Walters said.

REYNOLDS MAGIC

The Broncos would have struggled to win had Adam Reynolds not been on the field, despite how the scoreline looked.

His side looked lethargic early on, particularly their defensive line which wasn’t in unison.

The Bulldogs were showing more effort for much of the match which was what kept them in it.

The Bulldogs led early through a try to Jacob Preston but then the Broncos skipper took over.

Reynolds slipped a nice pass to Brendan Piakura to send him through the Bulldogs line and the halfback backed up to get the ball back and score under the posts.

Reynolds was at it again minutes later when he put his other backrower Kurt Capewell through a gap and he strode over for a very soft try.“

Toby Sexton was very good for them last week and they lost him for the game,” Walters said. “You need your best players out there to get the result you need and unfortunately for the Bulldogs, that didn’t happen for them.”

Canterbury wasn’t giving up however and were probably doing better than Brisbane after 25 minutes.

The Broncos looked comfortable against the Bulldogs in the second half, but it may have been a different story had Adam Reynolds not been on the field. Picture: Getty Images.

Their effort was rewarded soon after when a determined Jake Averillo charged over.

It was 12-all and if it wasn’t for the ball playing of Reynolds, the Broncos could have been down a couple of tries.

Reynolds ended the day with three try assists and three line break assists.

The class of the Broncos got them over the line as the home side struggled to mount dangerous attack as the game went on without Sexton.

The only two times the effort wasn’t there from the Bulldogs was when the Broncos crashed over from dummy half in plays you’d normally only see in the under 8s on a Saturday morning.

Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo wasn’t impressed with how his team defended in the first period.

“You can’t give up that many points and still expect to be in a game. It’s just amateurish,” Ciraldo said.

“Tries from dummy half and silly offloads makes it hard to win games.

“We let in 22 points in the first half. Every try hurts me but they (dummy half tries) hurt me more.”

Ciraldo said his team just couldn’t fire without Sexton in the second period.

“Toby’s made our team a better team and he was controlling our attack and when he went off we lost that,” he said.