Joey Leilua savaged after horrific ‘dog shot’ on Panthers’ Dylan Edwards
Wests Tigers centre Joey Leilua has been given a monstrous ban from the NRL’s Match Review Committee after his sickening cheap shot.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Wests Tigers centre Joey Leilua has been given a four-week suspension for his dangerous high shot on Penrith Panthers fullback Dylan Edwards.
The NRL released a statement on Sunday confirming Leilua had been charged by the Match Review Committee and will miss four matches with an early guilty plea.
“Leilua has been charged with grade three dangerous contact (head/neck) over his high shot on Panthers fullback Dylan Edwards at Bankwest Stadium on Saturday,” the statement read.
“The charge translates into a ban of four weeks for an early guilty plea and six weeks if he is found guilty.”
Wests Tigers has until midday on Monday to submit their plea.
Joey Leilua facing 4-6 weeks for that high shot on Dylan Edwards off the ball. Four with an early guilty plea, six if he fights it and loses at the judiciary. #NRL
— Scott Bailey (@ScottBaileyAAP) July 5, 2020
Leilua came under fire for a sickening “cheap shot” on Edwards during Saturday evening’s loss at Bankwest Stadium in Sydney.
In the 77th minute of the round eight clash, Leilua was sent to the sin bin after flinging his right arm into Edwards’ jaw, sparking a mammoth brawl.
Kayo is your ticket to the 2020 NRL Telstra Premiership. Every game of every round Live & On-Demand with no-ad breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
The disgusting act came after his brother copped a high tackle from Panthers hooker Api Koroisau — there were initial concerns Luciano Leilua suffered a fractured jaw, and a penalty try was awarded.
Koroisau has not been charged by the Match Review Committee despite being put on report for the incident.
But Joey was unable to control his emotions, giving away several penalties in the second half before his eventual sin-binning.
“He was emotional and he gave away penalties, you just can’t do that,” Tigers coach Michael Maguire said after the loss.
“He is aware of it. He has been around long enough. He knows what he has to do. I will talk to Joey.
“They are costly moments and we need to be better in those situations. Those are the things we will be talking about during the week.
“You could see that there was a lot of passion, the boys are fighting really hard to change what we have spoken about over the last month and now it is about channelling that to be able to win those close games.
“We put ourselves in a great position to take the game but they have got to learn how to take the next step.”
Edwards sympathised with Leilua and confirmed there were “no hard feelings”.
“I got a little cheapie there but it didn’t hurt me too much,” Edwards said.
“He was a bit cranky but it happened on the footy field so there are no hard feelings.”
Former Sydney Roosters star Braith Anasta condemned the “unnecessary” act from the Fox League commentary booth.
“Jeez he comes up with some dumb plays BJ,” Anasta said on Saturday.
“That is just so unnecessary.”
“He needs to settle down, he has to go for that. He does some stupid things, and he doesn’t need to. It’s been his achilles heel his whole career Joey, he just can’t control his temperament.”
Andrew Voss bluntly agreed: “That’s just c***”.
Not only should Joey Leilua get 6 weeks for his high shot on Dylan Edwards, at the end of the suspension the Tigers should tear up his contract.
— Warren Smith (@WarrenSmithFOX) July 4, 2020
Worst signing by any club in the NRL era.#NRLTigersPanthers
On ABC Grandstand, New South Wales Blues great Luke Lewis argued Leilua should be suspended for the remainder of the season, questioning whether two minutes on the bench was a worthwhile punishment.
Co-commentator Andrew Moore agreed: “A sin bin? That’s weak as water.”
“That doesn’t mean anything with two minutes to go. The send off rule doesn’t exist in rugby league anymore. Get rid of it from the rule book, because the referees are too gutless to send anyone off.”
The Daily Telegraph reporter Michael Carayannis called it “a disgraceful act” and a blatant “dog shot”.
News presenter Russel Barwick called Leilua a “dumb footballer”, accusing the 28-year-old of “single-handedly” costing the Tigers any chance of winning.
“Joey Leilua cannot play first grade next week given what he has done tonight,” Barwick posted on Twitter.
“He has single-handedly cost the tigers any chance. He’s not a great player by any stretch. He’s a dumb footballer”.
Joey Leilua. How predictable. Gifted talent but a liability to any team with that nonsense. #NRLTigersPanthers
— Mathew Thompson (@MathewJThompson) July 4, 2020
Leilua could be facing a lengthy period on the sidelines, with the NRL expected to hand down a punishment in the coming days.
The Panthers secured a 19-12 victory on Saturday, pushing themselves up to second spot on the 2020 NRL ladder.
Penrith will take on the Cronulla Sharks at Bankwest Stadium next Saturday, while the Tigers will face the South Sydney Rabbitohs at the same venue on Friday evening.
Originally published as Joey Leilua savaged after horrific ‘dog shot’ on Panthers’ Dylan Edwards