Canberra Raiders forward Hudson Young facing ban for eye gouge
Canberra are privately furious at their young forward Hudson Young after an alleged eye gouge that could seven weeks on the sideline.
Canberra are privately furious at their young forward Hudson Young after an alleged eye gouge that could seven weeks on the sideline.
Young faces a five-to-seven-week ban for a dangerous contact charge for the incident on Canterbury veteran Aiden Tolman during their 12-10 win on Saturday.
In further bad news, an MRI scan has revealed forward Corey Horsburgh has suffered a fractured elbow that will keep him out for between two and four weeks.
It couldn’t come at a worse time for coach Ricky Stuart with the injury-ravaged Raiders due to face Wests Tigers on Friday night at Bankwest Stadium.
It will mean Stuart will have no option but to back up his Origin players Josh Papalii, Jack Wighton and Nick Cotric if they come through Wednesday night’s Suncorp Stadium clash unscathed.
The Raiders will announce on Monday that they will not fight the charge levelled at Young because of the potential risk of losing him for up to seven weeks if he is found guilty.
Replays of the incident clearly show Young with his hand all over Tolman’s face and the Bulldogs prop made no attempt to hide his anger as he immediately indicated what he believed happened.
In Fox League commentary Sam Burgess also revealed how Young had given the South Sydney enforcer a face massage during the Rabbitohs’ recent clash against the Raiders.
Burgess wasn’t blowing up about it but the message issued to Young from inside the Raiders yesterday was clear: there are acceptable ways for young forwards to try and win respect on the football field, and leaving yourself open to this type of allegation does no one any good.
While Tolman was not seriously hurt, it was still a terrible look and all it has effectively done now is leave the Raiders even more vulnerable at a time when the club needs all hands on deck.
While some have suggested the five to seven-week ban is still over the top, Young would have only been facing between three and five weeks out had he not carried a 50 per cent loading for a prior similar offence in the last two years that occurred while playing NSW Cup.
There was also some debate Young should have been sent straight from the field given the severity of the charge.
But onfield match officials did not have immediate access to the same camera angles afforded to the match review officials that highlighted the incident more clearly.
Meanwhile, an MRI scan has revealed Horsburgh has suffered an undisplaced fracture to the radial head (elbow fracture) after an incident early in the game.
While it will not require surgery, Horsburgh will need time off to mend.
The Raiders are hoping Horsburgh will only miss two games against the Tigers and Cronulla and be available for the round 15 match against Parramatta in Darwin.
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