Maroons players cleared of ‘eye gouge’ after Davis drops complaint
By Billie Eder
Blues hooker Keeley Davis has decided not to pursue an eye-gouge complaint she made in her team’s 32-12 game one Origin victory on Thursday night.
Davis initially made the complaint to referee Belinda Sharpe alongside captain Isabelle Kelly in the 15th minute of the match, but has since decided to drop the accusation after footage of the incident was inconclusive.
The match review committee did not charge a Maroons player for the offence when the Origin charge sheet was released on Friday morning, but Davis had the option to pursue the complaint further if she wanted to, which she decided against.
Davis and Blues coach John Strange are expected to make a statement about the incident when the team arrives back in Sydney on Friday afternoon.
Speaking after the match on Thursday night, Davis said she was left shocked by the incident because “any time you get eye gouged I think it’s a surprise”.
“I just won’t say too much on that yet, I don’t know how much I can say,” Davis said. “Obviously, it’s going to have to go to the judiciary and things like that, so I’ll just leave it at that.”
With the complaint not being pursued, it means both Queensland coach Tahnee Norris and Blues coach John Strange will have all their players available for game two at Allianz Stadium on May 15, with NSW playmaker Tiana Penitani Gray also let-off for an accidental hair pull on Tamika Upton.
Keeley Davis in the Blues game one Origin victory on Thursday night.
Davis stood by her allegation on Thursday night despite being “unsure at this moment” who she suspected the perpetrator was.
“I’ve never felt it in the game [before]. I felt an eye gouge [tonight],” she said after NSW’s 32-12 win.
Kelly said Davis didn’t let the incident rattle her despite it happening early in the match.
“I think if you know Keeley, you know that’s not going to rattle her,” Kelly said. “She’s a professional, Keels; she’s been great, I thought she was great tonight as well, I knew it wasn’t going to affect her.”
Jubilant NSW players after their game one win.Credit: Getty Images
With no charges laid, it means there has not been an official eye-gouging incident in the NRLW, but the NRL has set a strong precedent for the behaviour in the past.
George Burgess was given a four-match ban for an eye gouge on Dallin Watene-Zelezniak back in 2018, while Hudson Young was whacked with a mammoth eight-game ban for an eye gouge on Adam Pompey in 2019.
Davis said it was important to move on after incidents like this happen in a match.
“Honestly, it’s like an error... You’ve got to be a goldfish, and I think the best players are goldfish about thing that they don’t want to remember and even good things,” Davis said.
“You just have to keep your focus on the next job, so whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing that’s just happened, you really just need to look at the next thing.”
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