NRL 2021: Raiders star Josh Papalii sent off for high shot as NRL crackdown continues

Josh Papalii will miss the opening Origin contest unless he beats a high tackle rap after the match review committee came down hard on his dismissal in the Raiders defeat of the Bulldogs.

Josh Papalii was marched for a high shot against the Bulldogs. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images)

A frustrated Ricky Stuart says the NRL’s crackdown on dangerous tackles will lead to a “completely different game of rugby league” if the criteria used for Josh Papalii’s send off becomes the new benchmark.

Papalii was sent off for a high tackle on Bulldog Tui Katoa, his absence and the earlier sin binning of Jack Wighton leaving the Raiders with 11 men on the field midway through the second half and spurring a miraculous 20-18 fightback win.

The pair were among four players placed on report during the match following the NRL’s crackdown on foul play, with Stuart and Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett lamenting the changes occurring in the game.

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Josh Papalii will face the judiciary for this shot on Tuipulotu Katoa.

Stuart conceded Papalii hit Katoa high.

“But he was falling into the tackle and there are going to be a whole heap of send offs this year if that’s a send off incident,” Stuart said.

“I just hope they don’t change now if that’s the precedent.

“We’re going to find a completely different game of rugby league from what we’ve been following for many years.

“Josh’s incident, Jack getting 10 minutes for that, the game’s changed.”

Stuart understood the NRL’s reasoning.

“I know we’ve got to play to our mums and dads, I’m the first to promote the game. I want to promote the game to parents.

“But we have got a game that’s quite unique, we’ve got a game that’s not for everyone – it’s as simple as that.

“It’s a tough, brutal contact sport and if we want to take that away, let me know, I’ll start recruiting different players.”

Josh Papalii is sent from the field. Picture: Scott Davis/NRL Photos

Barrett agreed with Stuart’s assessment.

“I don’t like seeing uneven contests and even before these rules were in, the six to go rule has changed the game dramatically and we’ve seen some really lopsided results and this is just going to make it worst,” he said.

“If that’s what they want, then that’s what’s going to happen and I don’t know if that’s good for the game or not.”

Barrett said in a contact sport, it was hard not to touch the head or neck of a player when tackling.

“It’s impossible not to,” he said.

“There’s no thuggery in the game any more, there’s no swinging arms or elbows, it’s not like it was in the 80s.

“Occasionally there will be contact there – no one goes out to do it. It’ll turn into a game of OzTag if that’s what they want.

“We’re a great game but if you keep changing the rules, who knows where it will end up.”

Canberra Raiders fans celebrate a rare victory. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images

Stuart said it was “sad” to be talking about the dramas given the character his team showed to break their five-match losing streak and second-half fadeouts.

“With the talking about it, we’re giving other sports a leg up and that’s not what we’re here for,” he said.

“We’ve got a wonderful weekend of rugby league here and we want to promote our game but unfortunately, we’re talking about the wrong things.”

What he wanted to highlight was the character of his players.

“Our club’s not broken, it’s a wonderful club, we’ve just been losing football games,” he said.

“We haven’t had any luck and we had no luck again today. Criticise me all you want for saying we’ve had no luck – yes we have been in poor form, we have played bad football at times but not for 80 minutes of every game.

“Fortunately through their culture and the spirit of the jumper and the player inside it we hung on.”

Papalii prepares to face the wrathof the referee.

PAPALI’I IN ORIGIN DANGER

Papalii could pay a massive price for his high shot, with a charge higher than a grade 2 high tackle ruling him ineligible for Origin I.

It was a sad blot on his copy book given his efforts in the opening half helped set up the Raiders’ lead.

Plenty was said during the week about Ricky Stuart’s “difficult conversations” with his players but the challenge he put to Josh Papalii paid obvious dividends, with the front rower an explosive influence in the game.

The Origin front-rower had 67m in the opening half alone, as well as two tackle breaks and two offloads and it was his run that started the movement that led to Corey Harawira-Naera’s first-half try.

After a string of defeats the Raiders finally have a reason to smile.

NRL CRACKDOWN CONTINUE

After just one penalty in the first half, it seemed the Bulldogs-Raiders match would defy Friday’s trend of reports and sin bins but the drama was yet to come.

Four players ended up on report, with Josh Hodgson placed on report a minute after Papalii was sent off for working a man on the ground, while the Dogs’ Ava Seumanufagai was on report in the 66th minute for a late tackle.

No one could argue with either Wighton or Papalii being marched though, with their infringements clear.

Luke Thompson never stopped working for the Bulldogs.

DOGS HALVES SITUATION STILL NOT RESOLVED

Bulldogs halves Jake Averillo and Brandon Wakeham were under the microscope after Kyle Flanagan’s axing and the Bulldogs’ handling of the situation.

It was the Dogs’ strong running through the middle that set up the opportunities for them to strike out wide though and Averillo, in particular, would have been unhappy with some of his efforts, including a second-half kick which handed the Raiders a seven-tackle set and released the pressure valve.

HODGSON BACK IN GREEN

The former Raiders co-captain made his return from a calf injury and had an almost immediate impact after coming on early in the second half.

Initially playing at first receiver, he touched the ball three times in the first attacking set he played and went looking for the ball.

But he was put on report in the 62nd minute for working a man over on the ground, putting further pressure on the Raiders after Papalii and Wighton were marched.