NRLW Tackle: Kennedy Cherrington referred straight to judiciary for spear tackle

The judiciary has come down hard on Parramatta Eels NRLW skipper Kennedy Cherrington for her horror spear tackle. Round 3 likes and dislikes

Broncos hair-pull.

Fatima Kdouh and Pamela Whaley run the rule over round 3 of the NRLW, revealing their likes and dislikes in NRLW Tackle.

ROUND 3 DISLIKES

SCARY TACKLE ROCKS NRLW

Parramatta skipper Kennedy Cherrington has been referred directly to the judiciary for a horror spear tackle in Sunday’s 38-4 NRLW loss to Newcastle.

The Jillaroos’ forward became the second player this season to be sent off after upending Knights’ interchange player Laishon Albert Jones and dumping her onto the turf head first at CommBank Stadium.

It was a shocking moment that stunned viewers.

On Monday morning the match review committee handed down a grade three dangerous throw charge to be heard at a judiciary hearing at NRL headquarters on Tuesday night.

It’s the second and subsequent offence for Cherrington, who last season copped a grade one dangerous contact charge in round 4, and a warning two rounds prior for the same level of offence.

Cherrington’s is the second case to be referred directly to the judiciary in just three rounds of NRLW and comes a fortnight after Brisbane’s Ashleigh Werner was suspended for two weeks for biting Sydney Roosters’ winger Jayme Fressard.

Cherrington should expect to face more than a fortnight on the sidelines though given the serious danger of the tackle.

Any amount of time on the sidelines will be a big blow to the Eels, who are yet to win a game after three rounds.

Kennedy Cherrington is in hot water for this shocking tackle.

They are already without injured star players Elsie Albert and Rachael Pearson, however, both could return as soon as this week against Brisbane.

Elsewhere, Knights prop Caitlan Johnston is set to miss a week for a grade two careless high tackle on Kelsey Clark for which she was sin-binned in the same game.

Johnston could miss just Sunday’s clash with the Titans if she takes the early guilty plea, but risks two weeks on the sidelines if she fights the charge at the judiciary.

That's a nasty one! 😱

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— NRL on Nine (@NRLonNine) August 6, 2023

HAIR-RAISING

The hair pull continues to be a ‘big issue’ in the NRLW - so does the best way to eradicate the ugly tactic out of the game.

Broncos lock Mariah Denman grabbed a fist full of Francesca Goldthorp’s hair in Brisbane’s 40-12 win and got away with it.

Cowboys fullback Goldthorp remonstrated to the referee to no avail.

The incident split the commentators, NSW coach Kylie Hilder and former Jillaroos fullback Sam Bremner.

Hilder didn’t want to see the incident go unpenalised by the referee.

“It’s a big issue in the women’s game with the hair out... very lucky she didn’t get a penalty for that,” Hilder said.

Brisbane’s Mariah Denman grabbed a fist full of Francesca Goldthorp’s hair.

But Bremner said players ran the risk of having their hair pulled if it was ‘flying around’ and not tied back.

“You’re just trying to get them down, whether it’s pulling the hair or jersey when your hair is flying around, it happens... but it’s the risk you take with your hair out,” she said.

The incident also went unpunished by the match review committee on Sunday morning. Bremner noted in the commentary that hair pulling is considered ‘head contact’.

In 2020, Brisbane‘s Amber Hall shocked the NRLW with a hair pull, dragging then Dragons centre Isabelle Kelly to the ground with her ponytail leading to an ankle injury.

Hair pulling has also been a point of controversy in the men’s game. Debate raged back in round 7 when Newcastle forward Tyson Frizell was penalised for yanking at Jarome Luai’s hair in the Knight’s 15-16 golden point loss.

ILLEGAL PLAY

Referee Darian Furner did a good job of keeping Saturday’s Cronulla and Titans game flowing, but the match official did miss a number of suspicious looking tackles.

Emma Tonegato was whacked in the ribs by Titans enforcer Rilee Jorgensen as the Sharks five-eighth passed the ball.

Replays showed the bone crunching hit was late and that Jorgensen was lucky to get away with it.

Hip drop tackles are also causing confusion in the women’s game.

Sharks back-rower Vanessa Foliaki looked to use her weight to drag Stephanie Hancock to the ground landing on the ankles of the Titans forward.

The suspicious looking tackle was missed by both on field officials and the bunker. The match review committee issued Foliaki with a warning over the tackle.

LISTLESS DRAGONS DEFENCE

“We tried too hard and we missed some tackles” - that was Dragons coach Jamie Soward’s initial assessment of his side’s 30-0 loss to the Roosters.

But the Dragons didn’t just miss ‘some tackles’, they missed a whopping 66 tackles in 70 minutes and even conceded 10 linebreaks - letting the Roosters run in six tries.

There were also some poor one-on-one misses in defence which will no doubt be a focus of Soward and his team this week as they prepare for the Raiders.

Brydie Parker scores one of the Roosters’ six tries. Picture: Matt King/Getty

ALL THE EFFORT, NO REWARD

Kezie Apps should feel hard done by after the Wests Tigers back-rower was sent to the sin bin late in the second half of Sunday’s 28-22 loss to Canberra.

Apps put in an incredible effort to chase down Raiders winger Shakiah Tungai as she streaked down the right edge after taking an intercept.

But the referee ruled the Jillaroos captain held down Tungai too long in the tackle. Replays showed Apps got the rough end of the stick and she’d barely held Tungai down.

The Raiders immediately capitalised on the numbers advantage with a try to centre Cheyelle Robins-Reti.

Another moment the Tigers would want over is the last play with the game on the line in the final 30 seconds. Halfback Emily Curtain went with the wrong option leaving her side with the chance to contest the last tackle.

ROUND 3 LIKES

RAIDERS ROLL TIGERS

Canberra have produced one of the best team efforts so far in the NRLW to end the Wests Tigers’ fairytale unbeaten start to the season in a bruising 28-22 win at GIO Stadium.

Five-eighth Zahara Temara was brilliant with ball in hand, setting up three tries but the playmaker was as effective with her boot and kicking game.

Her halves partner Ashleigh Quinlan also set-up two tries to breakdown the Tigers’ steely defence - which had only conceded eight points in the first two rounds.

But the playmakers had a platform to dominate. Canberra’s hard runs and physicality led by forward pack Simaima Taufa and Kerehitina Matua helped wear down the Tigers wall.

Tigers hitwomen Sarah Togatuki dished out as good as she received but in the end Canberra’s engine room got the job done on Sunday.

The loss for the Tigers means they have slipped to fourth on the ladder, while the Raiders climb to fifth on four competition points.

MELE MAULS COWBOYS

Remember the name - Mele Hufanga.

Big, powerful and unstoppable close to the line, the Brisbane centre became just the second NRLW player to score four tries in a match.

Hufanga destroyed North Queensland’s right edge defence of Jasmin Peters and Autumn-Rain Stephens-Daly with her tackle busting runs - and the Cowboys duo had no answer to her attacking raids.

Hufanga finished Brisbane’s 40-12 win with 13 tackle breaks and five linebreaks, in one of the best individual performances of round three.

No NRLW player is yet to score five tries in a single match but if Hufanga continues to toy with opposition defences the 28-year old is on track to making NRLW history.

Mele Hufanga of the Broncos celebrates after scoring a try. Picture: Ian Hitchcock/Getty

BRONCOS BACK ON TRACK

Brisbane’s campaign is finally up and running, helped by a brilliant showing from five-eighth Gayle Broughton on Saturday in Townsville.

The three-time premiership winners went into the North Queensland clash staring down the barrel of a 0-3 start to their 2023 season.

But after losses to the Roosters and Titans, Brisbane’s new look halves combination of Broughton and Ali Brigginshaw finally clicked.

Former Parramatta fullback Broughton looked at right at home with the no.6 on her back as she ran the ball with confidence to create multiple opportunities in attack on the left hand side of the field.

She finished with three try assists and three linebreak assists.

Brigginshaw might be the best ever playmaker in the women’s game, but Broughton stepped out of the halfback’s shadow on Saturday to announce her arrival as an elite playmaker in her own right.

PERFECT PELITE

Gold Coast halfback Sienna Lofipo made an impressive account of herself in Titans last gasp 10-8 win but it was star fullback Evania Pelite that stole the show.

With just 90 seconds left on the clock a clutch moment from Pelite helped maintain the Titans unbeaten record to start the season.

Pelite found a way to get an offload away to Lofipo, who put winger Hailee-Jay Ormond-Maunsell over to score and snatch victory from under the Sharks’ nose.

But Pelite was also highly involved all match long, helping to create attacking opportunities from the back.

The fullback finished the match with 170 metres, 60 post contact metres, five tackle busts and a try assist.

The Titans have now won three-straight matches in the NRLW for the first time since entering the competition in 2021.