The Tackle: Maroons star Harry Grant cleared of ‘Hoppa’ tackle during Origin II
The NRL have moved to clear Harry Grant of a questionable tackle during State of Origin II, provided an unseen camera angle which exonerates the Maroons hooker.
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The NRL have moved to clear Harry Grant of any wrong doing after a video appeared to capture the Maroons hooker in an unsavoury incident during Origin II.
But the Storm captain Harry Grant has been cleared of any inappropriate behaviour in Queensland’s win following a social media post accusing the Maroons hooker of ‘doing a Hoppa.’
However the NRL has provided this masthead with another camera angle which clears Grant.
He did perform a ‘wedgie’ on Blues halfback Nathan Cleary but that was the extent of it.
ROUND 16 DISLIKES
COAT HANGER ANGER
South Sydney fans were left seething after a blatant ‘coat hanger’ tackle on prop Sean Keppie went completely unpunished in Saturday night’s nail-biting golden point loss to Melbourne.
Given the NRL mandate on high contact, who can blame them?
Keppie was whacked flush on the throat by Melbourne skipper Harry Grant and left on the ground dry retching, but still there was no intervention from either referee Peter Gough or Chris Butler in the bunker.
There was ample time to review the incident as Keppie was receiving treatment on the ground.
But Grant was not penalised or put on report.
It was a potentially decisive call by Gough given the Rabbitohs were holding on to a two-point lead with only 11 minutes remaining.
Instead of getting a penalty, it was ruled ‘play on’ and Melbourne went on to score in the following set.
During the NRL’s head-high crack down, Grant would have been marched for 10 minutes or at a minimum copped a penalty.
“Watched the replay that tackle on Keppie is high and a penalty every day of the week. That’s a sin bin six weeks ago,” Nick Longergan said.
Other fans were left in disbelief at how Grant’s tackle could go unpunished.
“Coat hanging tackles are back on the table apparently fellas! What a joke, Keppie was instantly dry retching from that text book coat hanger tackle and nothing called … what a bloody joke,” Bryan Cartwright said.
Another disgruntled fan said the tackle was reminiscent of the bad old days of rugby league.
“Apparently coat hanger tackles around the neck are OK as long as you don’t contact the head. It’s back to the 80s we go. “Game on” I say,” Craig Potter said.
While another fan suggested that Grant got away with the tackle on reputation.
“If Latrell (Mitchell) did that tackle he would have been sent off! Absolutely ripped off,” Phil Bleyer said.
What irked Rabbitohs fans even further was the penalty handed to Storm after Keaon Koloamatangi was penalised for incidental contact on Cameron Munster.
Munster was quick to clutch the back of his head, and even quicker to recover once the penalty was awarded in his favour.
If Koloamatangi’s shot was a penalty then Grant should have received the same treatment.
It’s just one example that leaves fans frustrated at the inconsistency when ruling on head high contact, especially in a season when illegal tackles are supposed to be high on the NRL’s agenda.
HAIR PULLS AND HEADBUTTS
Canberra’s narrow win over the Wests Tigers was a spicy affair on Friday night.
But one incident in particular left a sour taste in the mouth of Tiger coach Benji Marshall - Jeral Skelton’s hair-pull on Xavier Savage.
It’s one thing to give away a penalty on the first tackle but to give it away on the first while in possession, that’s the sort of stuff they call ‘coach killers’.
“Yeah, it’s an issue. We’ve just got to address it,” Marshal said when asked about his side’s continued ill-discipline.
Canberra forward Morgan Smithies should count himself lucky for not being penalised, or worse, for what looked to be a clear headbutt at Fonua Pole.
Smithies, left bloodied, wore the brunt of his own headbutt but again, it’s the kind of ill-discipline that would have left coach Ricky Stuart far from impressed.
Stuart’s team is a gritty one but there is a fine line between an uncompromising approach and blatant ill-discipline.
Canberra went into Round 16 as the most penalised side in the NRL, it’s a trend Stuart will want to clean-up given its potential to prove costly when it matters most - during the finals.
DA SILVA SAGA
Benji Marshall was in no mood to talk about the unfolding Tallyn Da Silva saga, simply offering a “not sure” when asked if the Tigers could lose the rising hooker before June 30.
The Tigers were dragged into the headlines in the wake of Lachlan Galvin’s messy exit, so it’s hardly surprising the coach wanted to dead bat questions about Da Silva.
But there’s a huge difference between the two - unlike Galvin, Da Silva want to remain at Concord, so the coach’s curt response has left fans fearing the worst - that Da Silva, who did not get on the field in the Tigers loss to Canberra, could be out the door.
Skipper Api Koroisau is a key cog in Marshall’s spine but Da Silva won’t stay if the veteran dummy-half is re-signed. Losing Da Silva, a local junior, so soon after Galvin is a kick in the guts to fans who had high hopes for both at Concord.
But not all hope is lost. The Tigers also have high hopes for talented rookie rake Jared Haywood, who will join the top 30 in 2027 and is signed until the end of 2028.
Haywood, still only 18, has been playing in Jersey Flegg as he quickly rises through the Tigers ranks.
While Marshall is prioritising Koroisau, as he looks for wins right now, the coach should have one eye on a Jarome Luai and Latu Fainu halves combination.
If the duo are the first-choice halves into the future, Marshall should pull the trigger as soon as this week against the Sea Eagles.
Fainu’s minutes are being managed but his talent is undeniable.
Immortal Andrew Johns believe Fainu, not Luai, should be wearing the no.7 jumper moving forward.
“I think he is a seven, I’d have him in the seven. He looks like he’s an on-ball halfback which frees up Jarome,” Johns said on Channel 9.
BOSTOCK BANISHED
Rugby league really is a cruel game sometimes.
One week Jack Bostock is revelling in a four-try haul, the next he is facing an extended stint on the sideline.
Bostock suffered a suspected season-ending ACL injury in the Dolphins’ loss to Newcastle on Saturday.
The extent of the flyer’s injury is expected to be confirmed on Monday, once the Dolphins return from Perth.
Coach Kristian Woolf has a number of options to replace Bostock this week against the Rabbitohs, including flyer Junior Tupou and centre Max Feagai.
Jake Averillo is also an option but the elusive back has been in fine-touch at centre.
A complete re-shuffle could see Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow shift from fullback onto the wing with Averillo at the back and Feagai at centre.
ROUND 16 LIKES
BRONCOS BUCK NAYSAYERS
It’s the moment that puts to bed any accusation that this star-studded rockstar-like Brisbane outfit simply doesn’t understand the weight or enormity of wearing a Broncos jersey.
After setting up Gehamat Shibasaki for a decisive try with a game breaking run, star fullback Reece Walsh was seen beating at his chest right over the Broncos logo.
The moment was fleeting but should leave Brisbane fans with no doubt that there is not only fire in the belly of this Broncos outfit but a passion for the famous jersey that at times this year has been questioned.
Walsh played through the pain of a PCL injury in the 34-28 win over the Sharks, and will have to do so for the rest of the season.
Again, it’s a show of toughness and resilience that the Broncos have been accused of lacking in 2025.
But that claim is getting harder for the naysayers of the Broncos to justify.
Not only because the Broncos clawed back a 16-point deficit in the second half to win back-to-back games for the first time since April.
But for Michael Maguire’s engine room, which is being propped up in herculean fashion by powerhouse Payne Haas and Pat Carrigan, who both backed up only four days after Origin II in Perth four days ago.
Haas also played through the pain of a quad complaint but according to Code Sports stats finished with a huge 189 metres, nine tackle busts, six offloads and 35 tackles. Carrigan churned out 146 metres, which was more than any Sharks forward on the field.
Brisbane, like Penrith, are a side with talent and firepower and can be a genuine title threat from outside of top four if they can secure a finals berth.
After knocking off Cronulla, a win over fourth-placed Warriors and ladder leaders Canterbury in Round 18 will send the rest of the competition a message that only three weeks, after six losses from seven games, looked like would never come.
PROWLING PANTHERS
Only two sides have ever won a premiership after finishing the regular season outside of the top four - Brisbane in 1993 and Canterbury in 1995.
Penrith are every chance of being the third team if the four-time premiers can scrape into the top eight.
The four-time premiers slumped to the bottom of the ladder in Round 12 but after three-straight wins - including a spirited victory without any Origin stars against the 4th-placed Warriors - the Panthers are now back in the finals race.
A full-strength Panthers outfit will leave every other side in the top eight looking over the shoulder in September.
Sides like Canterbury and Cronulla are yet to prove their finals credentials.
Melbourne have been inconsistent and teams like the Dragons, Dolphins and almost South Sydney on Saturday night have shown a Storm scalp is there to be taken.
After five-straight grand finals, the Panthers are September specialists with a finals know-how that is the envy of every other club.
Forced to travel to New Zealand without Nathan Cleary, Liam Martin, Isaah Yeo, Brian To’o and Dylan Edwards, Penrith’s win on the back of the likes of Tom Jenkins, Moses Leota and Lindsay Smith shapes as the turning point in the club’s season.
Cleary struggled through a groin injury in Origin II but the halfback is expected to line-up on Thursday night against ladder leaders Canterbury on Thursday night.
The clash, which is shaping as a sellout, will be a true litmus test as to whether the Panthers have really turned the corner.
MUNSTER’S RABBITOHS RUN-IN
If there’s one NRL player that can find himself in an awkward moment it’s Cameron Munster.
Munster somehow mistimed his tunnel exit onto Accor Stadium to find himself in the Rabbitohs guard of honour.
If that wasn’t bad enough he accidentally whacked a kid in the face and was almost run over by Reggie the Rabbit.
It’s a run-in Munster wanted nothing to do with, especially since Reggie went rogue earlier this year and had his own run-in with a young fan.
“Reggie the Rabbit, I’m scared of him mate,” Munster joked after the game.
“My own shadow scares me sometimes.
“I didn’t realise they were still running out, and there was all these little kids there... I went to stop and go across but I almost got bombarded by all the Souths players.”
Munster might not be brave enough to tussle with Reggie but one Bunnies fan showed no fear after he heckled an already hot under the collar Storm coach Craig Bellamy - who was fuming at Melbourne’s performance - at full-time.
As Ryan Papenhuyzen kicked the winning point field goal, a fan could be seen flipping off the coach.
But the two-points in the bag, Bellamy took the moment in his stride.
Originally published as The Tackle: Maroons star Harry Grant cleared of ‘Hoppa’ tackle during Origin II
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