Broncos back Sam Thaiday’s decision to fight fine for grabbing Jesse Bromwich’s injured thumb

SENIOR Broncos players have backed teammate Sam Thaiday’s decision to fight his fine for grabbing at Jesse Bromwich’s injured thumb.

Thaiday tugs on Jesse Bromwich's injured thumb.

SENIOR Broncos players have backed teammate Sam Thaiday’s decision to fight his fine for grabbing at Jesse Bromwich’s injured thumb, saying the NRL has set a dangerous precedent.

Brisbane confirmed they will be heading to the judiciary as they plead not guilty to the contrary conduct charge against Thaiday.

The incident occurred in the 65th minute of Brisbane’s loss to Melbourne, with the Broncos forward caught on camera grabbing at Bromwich’s heavily strapped thumb that he dislocated in Round 1.

The decision to fine Thaiday has divided opinion, but his Broncos teammates are adamant it is not deserved.

THAIDAY THUMB GRAB HAS NO PLACE IN THE NRL

Thaiday tugs on Jesse Bromwich's injured thumb.

Fellow forward Adam Blair said the charge will “open a can of worms” if players are to be fined every time they hit someone with an injury and that Thaiday had made the right call to fight it.

“Everyone will know where they stand,” Blair said of Tuesday night’s judiciary.

“When I heard he got charged I thought it was a bit weird. If you’re fit to play, you’re fit to play. It opens a can of worms when you’re charging players for those little incidents.

“It’s a fine line the NRL are choosing if they want to go down that track. You can’t fine people for things like that.”

Brisbane halfback Ben Hunt echoed Blair’s sentiments, questioning where it would end for the game if Thaiday is found guilty.

“Where do they go with it?,” he said.

“If someone straps a leg are you not allowed to tackle them? If somebody has a bad shoulder, can you not run at that shoulder?

“I don’t know what (the NRL) are going to do with it but the club’s going to fight it and we’ll see what happens. It sets a standard that if someone has something strapped, you can’t attack it.”

Thaiday was originally fined $1550 but could pay $2100 if found guilty.