NRL judiciary: Dale Finucane suspended for two games over head clash with Stephen Crichton
Bulldogs forward Corey Waddell was shocked at his ban, Cronulla’s Dale Finucane says a careless contact precedent has been sett. Full report from a marathon night at the NRL judiciary
NRL
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Sharks skipper Dale Finucane says a dangerous precedent has been set after he was suspended for two games by the judiciary panel of Bob Lindner and Dallas Johnson for one of the most divisive tackles of the season.
Finucane was initially facing three games out but successfully had the charge downgraded to a grade two, which reduced the ban by one game.
SCROLL DOWN: WADDELL COPS LONG BAN FOR GOUGING
He will now miss matches against the Rabbitohs and the Dragons.
“I was quite surprised with the outcome given it was an accidental offence,” he said.
“Given that our game hasn’t seen anything sanctioned before for accidental head contact, so I was optimistic coming in.
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“I’m extremely disappointed with the outcome.
“I was disappointed with the outcome given it was an accidental offence. While I empathise with Stephen … it’s going to set a precedent moving forward.”
Finucane was hit with a grade three careless contact charge for his tackle on Stephen Crichton which left the Panthers centre bleeding profusely, concussed and requiring plastic surgery to repair his damaged ear.
Crichton was not named for Penrith for their Round 20 game against Parramatta.
New judiciary charge was added to the rule book tonight. Grade 2 bad look for the game.
— David Riccio (@DaveRic1) July 26, 2022
The Sharks lock could have accepted a two-match ban if he’d taken the early guilty plea but risked three weeks for a tackle that had split opinion given the contact was head on head and that other players had been let off for what seemed like worse tackles.
The panel found Finucane guilty but he immediately challenged the grading, with Ghabar questioning the legitimacy of a medical report and the use of a photo of Crichton’s injury.
He said that while the image was graphic, the report was not serious because it only mentioned soft tissue damage to Crichton’s left ear.
“I didn’t think that the laceration would come into it,” Finucane said afterwards.
“Every week, players from other sides – myself included – have had a number of lacerations with bruises as a result of accidental head collisions. Moving forward now, they’re going to be sanctioning that now.”
The panel of Lindner and Johnson took about 25 minutes to deliberate before they unanimously agreed that Crichton had played a small role in the incident.
Both parties agreed that there was an accidental head clash, but the main point of contention was whether the contact was careless.
Seven camera angles were used on Tuesday night, with judiciary counsel Patrick Knowles trying to argue that it was dangerous contact, that the conduct was careless and that it was dangerous.
Knowles argued that Finucane’s decision to rush out of the line was careless and that it was not standard technique to make first contact with the head, which left Crichton a “sitting duck”.
“It was careless because Finucane put himself in a position … where Crichton was vulnerable and couldn’t avoid the contact,” he argued.
Finucane, who was represented by Nick Ghabar, said he wasn’t hurt by the contact and that all he wanted to do was to put on a shot so he could reduce Crichton’s yardage so the Sharks could get the ball in good field position to try to win the game.
“I wouldn’t change what I did because it was a calculated decision in a football context,” Finucane said under cross-examination. “It’s a competitive sport and we had to do everything to win the game. I wouldn’t change what I did in this scenario.”
Ghabar’s main argument was that Crichton had contributed significantly to the tackle by lowering his body just before Finucane tackled him.
He also said it was a “powerful conclusion” that referee Ashley Klein and the Bunker deemed the contact legal and didn’t penalise Finucane at the time.
The tackle is bound to cause great debate and could set a precedent for future cases involving head clashes.
Waddell cops long ban for gouging Titan
Bulldogs back-rower Corey Waddell was found guilty of a reckless eye gouge at a marathon hearing at the judiciary and has been banned for five matches.
The Canterbury forward was incredulous when the verdict came through.
Waddell was referred straight to the judiciary on a dangerous contact charge on Gold Coast’s Tino Fa’asuamaleaui during Sunday’s win at CommBank Stadium.
Fa’asuamaleaui made a complaint on the field to referee Ben Cummins but didn’t appear at the judiciary hearing, which was questioned by Ghabar who said the Titans skipper may have fired up simply to earn his side a penalty.
Judiciary counsel Knowles said that there was an unwritten code among players that they wouldn’t give evidence against each other and argued that Waddell’s fingers ended up in a dangerous position and that the contact could have ruined not just someone’s career, but also their long-term health.
Knowles asked for a minimum ban of five matches after the judiciary panel deemed the contact reckless, claiming Waddell’s lack of contrition showed a lack of remorse or accountability.
Ghabar asked for a two-match penalty.
Waddell was adamant that the contact was incidental and that he was just trying to bring Fa’asuamaleaui to ground, pointing to the fact that his opponent had no scratches around the eye.
“I found my hand on his forehead,” Waddell said via video link.
“I didn’t apply any pressure whatsoever to his face and I tried to work on the tackle and get my hips in tight.”
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