NRL 2023: How Adam Reynolds could inadvertently help free Felise Kaufusi
In a crazy twist ahead of the Battle of Brisbane, star Bronco Adam Reynolds could help free key rival Felise Kaufusi from suspension.
Adam Reynolds could inadvertently help free Dolphins hit man Felise Kaufusi to play in Friday night’s blockbuster against the Broncos.
It is understood a tackle on Reynolds in round 17 last season by Tariq Sims will be used as part of Kaufusi’s defence when he fronts the NRL judiciary in person in Sydney on Tuesday night.
Kaufusi is contesting to get a downgrade on his grade two dangerous tackle charge to a grade one, which would mean he could escape with a fine and no suspension.
Sims was hit with a grade one charge for a similar tackle on Reynolds last year that resulted in the former Dragons enforcer escaping with a $1000 fine and no suspension.
The Dolphins are also expected to use a similar grade one charge on Roosters young gun Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii from round two where he whacked Warriors fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad.
If you play all three tackles at normal speed you could certainly argue of the three Kaufusi had the least opportunity to pull out of the tackle.
But while Kaufusi is looking at a four match ban if he loses at the judiciary, Suaalii also escaped with a fine and no suspension for an incident that looked even more dangerous.
Kaufusi will be joined in Sydney by Dolphins assistant coach Kristian Woolf, with the hearing certain to have a huge bearing on what promises to be one of the biggest club games in Queensland rugby league history.
The Broncos and the Dolphins sit on top of the table after three rounds as the only teams unbeaten in all three games.
Manly is also on six competition points but had the bye in round two.
Kaufusi was celebrated in the first two games for some huge shots in round one on Roosters forwards Brandon Smith and Egan Butcher, and another in round two on Raiders forward Hudson Young.
While there is no question his hit on Newcastle’s Jackson Hastings was late, it is hard to justify how it could be considered a grade two when both Sims and Suaalii escaped with grade one charges.
KAUFUSI FINDS ALLY IN SLATER
Maroons coach Billy Slater has urged the Dolphins to challenge Felise Kaufusi’s derby suspension as the expansion club gets set to head to the NRL judiciary.
“You can actually see Felise Kaufusi trying to pull out of the contact,” Slater told Channel 9.
“As much as we don’t want to hit ball-players late, and especially in the back, it’s not high and only fractionally late. You can see Felise trying to pull out of the contact.
“I can actually find grounds for Felise to fight that. I think he pulled out of it late. When the ball left Jackson’s hands, he was committed.
“If you look at the slow motion, when Felise commits to the tackle, the ball is in his hands. He tries to pull out at the last minute. That’s happening really fast.
“I think he’s got grounds to get it downgraded. I’d love to see him play against the Broncos.”
Kaufusi had become the most feared defender in the NRL this season following a series of bone-jarring tackles.
DOLPHINS DELIGHT AS STUNNING START CONTINUES
The Dolphins have continued their stunning start to life in the NRL, beating Newcastle 36-20 on Friday night to set up a blockbuster Brisbane derby against the Broncos next week.
The NRL’s expansion club has defied the critics to remain unbeaten after three rounds heading into next Friday’s inaugural “Battle of Brisbane” at Suncorp Stadium.
Winger Tesi Niu scored his first NRL hat-trick at McDonald Jones Stadium as Wayne Bennett’s Dolphins continued to shock the NRL.
But the Dolphins are set to be without their key enforcer for the biggest game of the year, with Felise Kaufusi facing multiple suspensions following a spiteful contest.
“It was the good, the bad, the ugly,” Bennett said.
“The good was the 30 something points and the bad was the 18 we gave up. There was a lot of rubbish in between it.
“You can’t ask for more than that (3-0). We all know the consequences of 0-3 so it’s a good place to be.
“Of the three games that was our poorest performance but we managed to hang in there and got the result our way.
“There’s no pressure this week. It’s (Broncos derby) the easiest game in the world to coach.
“Everybody wants to play in it. If you’re a football player you want to be there at the best stadium in Australia. I don’t think anyone will need motivating to be there.”
BENNY’S DOLPHINS FLYING
Bennett has transformed a bunch of NRL fringe players into world beaters.
Niu was on the outer at the Broncos last year, but is now in the best form of his career.
The same goes for two-try goalkicker Jamayne Isaako and Brenko Lee, who have looked different players since heading to Redcliffe.
Fullback Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow continued his stunning start to the season with another try and lock Tom Gilbert was huge with 153m and 38 tackles.
DOCTOR DEBACLE
The NRL’s independent doctor has come back to haunt the Knights again.
Newcastle star Kalyn Ponga was at the centre of a head injury assessment controversy in round 1 and now Hastings was caught out.
The doctor forced Hastings from the field after he was collected late by Kaufusi in the 69th minute, causing “significant whiplash”.
The Knights were trailing 26-18 with 11 minutes to go and had to finish the game without their chief playmaker.
“I’m not going near the Jackson one – I learnt my lesson in round one,” Knights coach Adam O’Brien said.
“If you’ve got them down to 12 you want your halves out there, but it’s not the reason we didn’t get the job done.”
Even without Hastings, the injury-ravaged Knights made too many mistakes and couldn’t capitalise on a one-man advantage late in the game.
Winger Dom Young is full of talent but made a shocking five errors.
Electric fullback Lachlan Miller produced his best game in the NRL, scoring two tries and running for 167m.
But the Knights essentially bumbled their way to another loss in their first home game of the season, making 14 errors.
“We were coming up against a team that don’t beat themselves,” O’Brien said.
“We didn’t make it easy on ourselves. Some errors at the back end saw the game get away from us.”
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