Dazed Brisbane skipper Justin Hodges wouldn’t shake Tariq Sims’ hand at fulltime
JUSTIN Hodges refused to shake hands with Tariq Sims at full-time after the back-rower’s nasty shoulder charge left him bloodied and dazed.
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JUSTIN Hodges refused to shake hands with Tariq Sims at full-time after the Cowboys back-rower’s nasty shoulder charge left the Broncos star bloodied and dazed.
The Cowboys’ 32-20 finals win had a dramatic postscript when Hodges launched a savage tirade as he walked up the players tunnel, shouting: “How many f****** grand finals have you won?”
The target of the abuse was not clear amid the mass of players, but it was almost certainly aimed at Sims after the second-half late shot that saw him placed on report.
In the 59th minute, Hodges was taken out late by a flying Sims, who failed to stop the pass that sent Broncos utility Jordan Kahu racing away to whittle the deficit to 24-14.
A shaken Hodges remained on the ground for several minutes and required strapping to stem the blood trickling from a nasty headcut.
Hodges later played down the severity of the incident, saying he hoped Sims was not rubbed out of this week’s sudden-death clash with the Roosters.
“I don’t remember too much to be honest,” he said later with heavy bandaging masking a wound above his right eye.
“I remember passing the ball and ended up on the ground.
“It’s been done now ... hopefully he’ll be right to play next week.”
Asked to elaborate on the incident, Hodges said: “I don’t care now, it’s a part of the game, you get split sometimes.”
Broncos coach Anthony Griffin also refused to be critical of Sims.
Asked if he should have been sent-off, he said: “No. Put them on report and get on with it. Surely there’s more to talk about than a shoulder charge.”
Nevertheless, it was a spiteful moment and Sims could be in trouble when the match-review committee analyse the tackle this week.
Cowboys coach Paul Green refused to comment on the incident.
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