NRL Judiciary: Success for Sam Burgess, misery for James Maloney
South Sydney star Sam Burgess has avoided suspension for his horrific tackle on Matt Moylan that will leave the Sharks star sidelined with a concussion this week, while James Maloney failed to talk his way out of a ban on a night of high drama at the NRL judiciary.
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This is the cheapest way to buy your freedom — by handing the NRL a cheque for just $1900.
Rather than be punished with an expected two-game suspension for an ugly high tackle, South Sydney star Sam Burgess is free to play Sunday’s massive game against Melbourne Storm in Gosford.
Burgess’ punishment is now a fine of $1900 despite a high shot that eventually forced Cronulla’s Matt Moylan from the field for an HIA test.
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Sharks teammates claimed Moylan was knocked out before he hit the ground. Moylan won’t play this weekend due to concussion — Burgess will.
NRL counsel, Peter McGrath, told the judiciary that Moylan was a “rag doll” after the hit.
Burgess successfully challenged a grade two careless high tackle charge at a 70-minute NRL judiciary hearing last night.
“I don’t think I’m a dirty player,” Burgess said. “Everyone has opinions, that’s okay. It makes for good theatre. Everyone has had a bit fun over the last few days but I can just get on with playing football now.
“I thought the result was pretty fair. If you look at the incident, I’m not intentionally trying to hurt anyone. I am not intentionally trying to hurt anyone. I understand things can go wrong.
“It wasn’t a loose play, I’m not swinging arms, I’m not intentionally trying to hit someone around the head. Things happen in sport and I take responsibility.
“I thought we had a case coming here and am thankful we got a fair hearing. We were asking for consistency and we got that tonight. I thought the evidence helped us. It should be a great game up on the central coast.”
Had Burgess been found guilty last night, he would have been suspended for two games and missed matches against Melbourne and Canterbury. He rolled the dice and won.
Burgess attracted immense criticism for the tackle — led by his Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett — which came in just the fourth minute of his comeback match following a nine-game absence with a shoulder infection.
🚨Breaking News 🚨@SSFCRABBITOHS skipper Sam Burgess has been successful at the judiciary and has been cleared to play this weekend.
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Nick Ghabar, representing Burgess, claimed there was “no evidence” Moylan sustained any injury.
Surprisingly, Burgess elected against any evidence at last night’s 70-minute hearing. Ghabar insisted his client’s first contact wasn’t the head but “bottom of the neck.”
“(Burgess) accepts he made contact that is high and careless and is accepting the tackle went wrong in a careless sense,” Ghabar said.
“(But) the first point of contact isn’t the head or neck. (It) was the trapezius or bottom of the neck.”
Ghabar told the three-member panel — comprising former players Dallas Johnson, Mal Cochrane and Tony Puletua — that Burgess’ tackle was “no more serious” than multiple other grade one careless high tackles.
“Player Burgess was intending to make a wrapping contact,” Ghabar said. “His arm (did) not come up to a 90 degree angle — it’s not a high swinging arm.
“It’s a legitimate attempt at a wrapping tackle that has gone wrong. There was no evidence of any injury to Moylan.”
McGrath, offered strong reasons why Burgess’ charge should not have been downgraded.
“There was a high degree of recklessness,” said McGrath. “The degree of force was high — not low, not moderate, it was in the high range. Player Burgess was in complete control of the tackle.
“The direct contact by player Burgess’ arm was in the head, neck and jaw area of player Moylan. Player Moylan was being evasive but there was not a significant drop in height.
“Player Moylan drops to the ground and loses purchase or grip of the ball. He is floppy, effectively a rag doll.”
MALONEY CAN’T TALK HIMSELF OUT OF THIS ONE
Try as he did, fast-talking James Maloney couldn’t trip up the NRL judiciary panel.
Maloney, the Penrith and NSW five-eighth, was found guilty last night of a trip and suspended from Penrith’s big match against Cronulla this Friday night at Panthers Stadium.
The NRL match review committee charged Maloney with a grade one trip on Canterbury’s Jeremy Marshall-King last weekend.
Maloney pleaded not guilty and challenged the charge, the three-member judiciary panel taking just 11 minutes to find the departing NRL star guilty.
While generally a cleanskin, Maloney will now leave Australia for France after this season with an unsavoury tripping charge on his rap sheet.
“I’m a little bit disappointed with the outcome, it’s obviously not what we were hoping for but that’s the process and you have to respect the process,” Maloney said after the hearing. “You move on.”
Maloney, known for his gift of the gab, explained to the panel — comprising former Dallas Johnson, Tony Puletua and Mal Cochrane — that he was attempting to kick the loose ball he had dropped — not trip Marshall-King.
He would have received a one-game ban for pleading guilty and the same punishment with a loss at the judiciary. Maloney had nothing to lose.
Panthers coach Ivan Cleary was conducting a television interview on the night and did not attend the hearing.
“I was trying to toe the ball through the line and then go to a scrum,” Maloney said.
“It’s probably a fair argument to say there was incidental contact with my leg (but) I was trying to kick the ball.
“He (Marshall-King) picked the ball up low where my foot was. My intention was to put it on the toe while no-one had the ball.”
Asked could he have pulled out of his motion, Maloney said: “I’m no physics expert but I don’t think that was possible. I couldn’t pull out.”
Pressed on whether he stuck his leg out to bring down Marshall-King, Maloney said: “Not true.”
Maloney added: “I have been in the game a long time and I’ve never seen it as tripping …”
NRL judiciary chairman Geoff Bellew then interjected and cautioned Maloney over offering answers that weren’t perceived to be relevant.
Under NRL rules, a tripping charge cannot be proven if a player made contact initially with a hand. Maloney claimed he had a “grip” on Marshall-King. NRL counsel, Peter McGrath, disagreed.
Maloney was placed on report in the 73rd minute of the Bulldogs game which Penrith lost 16-8.
He faced a one week ban through carry-over points.
McGrath described Maloney’s actions as “reckless.”
“He stuck his leg out trying to impede the player who had the ball. (It is) a trip as defined by the code,” McGrath said.
Cleary is expected to promote either Sione Katoa or Matt Burton into his starting side to replace Maloney. It was Maloney’s second suspension of this season.
Originally published as NRL Judiciary: Success for Sam Burgess, misery for James Maloney
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