Rugby League Gold Coast: Sledge that sparked Lorenzo Ma’afu-Jordan Scott king hit in Mudgeeraba v Burleigh
It was the ugliest incident in the Gold Coast Rugby League season, that left a competition star hospitalised with a broken jaw. Now we can reveal what was said to provoke the king hit.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Burleigh hooker Jordan Scott told Mudgeeraba forward Lorenzo Ma’afu his skills belonged in a UFC cage, not the football field, before the Redback broke his cheekbone with a single punch in July.
Ma’afu was handed a four-week suspension for striking and bringing the game into disrepute.
Scott was bound into the Burleigh scrum and could not defend himself from the punch.
Scott would have missed the rest of the regular season had community sport not been shut down but made his return against Southport on Saturday.
Scott was voted the cheekiest player in Gold Coast Rugby League in the Bulletin’s 2021 RLGC players’ poll with 41 per cent of respondents selecting him.
He admitted he enjoyed throwing opponents off their game with a well-placed jibe.
“It’s never anything malicious or personal,” he said.
“I’ve done it since I first started playing footy when you’re just throwing sledges.
“I’ve been brought up cheeky. I guess I’m just lucky that you can’t throw punches these days so you throw a bit of chat instead.”
Lorenzo Ma’afu banned four weeks for one-punch attack
MUDGEERABA Redbacks forward Lorenzo Ma’afu has been banned for four weeks for striking Burleigh hooker Jordan Scott and acting in a manner contrary to the conduct of the game.
The ban was reduced from six weeks to four weeks with an early guilty plea following the incident in an RLGC A Grade fixture on Sunday.
Under the ‘affected parties clause’ Burleigh were given 48 hours to appeal the length of suspension if the club deemed the sanction to be “grossly inadequate.”
The deadline for submitting that appeal is 5pm on Friday.
Scott is expected to miss the remainder of the 2021 season with a fractured cheekbone sustained after being punched while defenceless in a scrum.
Former Titans General Manager of Football Scott Sattler, the victim’s uncle, described the incident as “a dog act”.
“You should see the footage of it, it was horrible,” Sattler said.
“The bloke … should be rubbed out for this year and half of next year.
“Jordan was standing there in a scrum and the bloke just king hit him.
“It’s not because he’s my nephew, it’s a disgusting act on the footy field and he should be rubbed out for a long time.
“There was obviously a fair bit of verbal going on but the bloke king hit him.
“It was a dog act.”
’DOG ACT’: League great outraged by king hit on nephew
A MUDGEERABA Redbacks player who fractured an opposition player’s cheekbone in an alleged king hit find out his punishment from Rugby League Gold Coast on Thursday.
Burleigh hooker Jordan Scott was defenceless, packed into a scrum in the 55th minute of a Rugby League Gold Coast A Grade clash with Mudgeeraba, when opposition lock Lorenzo Ma’afu allegedly loaded up and threw a punch.
Ma’afu has pleaded guilty to the charge and the governing body expects to have a decision on any potential suspension on Thursday.
The impact was obscured in a midst of bodies but Scott suffered a broken cheekbone and spent the night in hospital.
Burleigh coach Matt Foster said Scott’s six-week recovery period would risk him missing Burleigh’s final four games and likely their finals campaign as well.
Ma’afu was charged with striking (grade one) and contrary conduct.
The striking charge carries a punishment of 200 points, a two match suspension.
That would be reduced by 25 per cent with an early guilty plea at 3.30pm.
Burleigh coach Matt Foster said he was livid after finding out the charge was on the lowest end of the striking scale.
“If I’ve seen anything, that’s not a grade one,” he said.
“Talking to people and what they’re saying, if it’s not clear contact on video replay then it’s very hard to prove.
“That’s what’s guided their decision but we all know what happened.
“For me looking at the footage, (the charge) seems really light because you can see Lorenzo load up and you see Jordan Scott come out the other side.
“Rugby league is a tough sport played by tough men who like physical contact but something like that, where someone is defenceless with arms around two props and gets hit, that’s not something anyone wants to see in this sport.
“Lorenzo Ma’afu had a spell at Burleigh and I thought he was one of the good guys.
“I don’t know if this (incident) defines his character but the punishment should fit the crime irrelevant to the individual involved.”
Mudgeeraba officials declined to comment.
It was not the first scuffle to break out throughout the match.
GC signings hub: BMD, Hostplus and A-Grade
Gold Coast clubs are wasting no time in naming their 2025 senior men’s and women’s rugby league rosters, with one showing off a lineup decorated with former NRL names. See for yourself with our complete signings tracker:
Revealed: 120+ sports stars of the southeast
The new year looms, and athletes have already begun their prep for season 2025. From the track to the pool and everywhere in between, these are the 120+ southeast Queensland young guns you must watch and why. Full list: