Greg McCallum says early please at NRL judiciary to blame for big-match bans

FORMER match review committee boss Greg McCallum believes NRL clubs need to start regularly challenging minor offences rather than accepting early pleas and leaving players with carry-over points.

FORMER match review committee chairman and referee Greg McCallum believes NRL clubs need to start regularly challenging minor offences at the judiciary rather than accepting early pleas and leaving players with the burden of carry-over points.

The match review committee and points system has again become a hot topic after Wade Graham was found guilty at the judiciary on Wednesday night and forced to give up on his Origin dream.

Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan said there had already been discussions among coaches about the points system.

Former NRL match review committee chairman Greg McCallum believes clubs need to hit back at minor judiciary charges.

Increasing the number of demerit points required to miss marquee games is one option.

“This highlights the anomalies in our game, to miss an Origin with 100 demerit points,’’ Flanagan said Wednesday night.

Several high-profile players also called for a review of the points system on the eve of big games, including Graham’s teammate and proud New South Welshman Luke Lewis, who was forced to miss an Origin game through suspension in 2010.

The NRL CEOs were given an update yesterday at Rugby League Central by a working group entrusted with exploring alternatives to the current match review committee model.

Two of those alternatives included fines for minor charges, and increasing the amount of demerit points required to miss big games.

Geoff Bellew, who was the judiciary chairman on Wednesday night, and Canterbury coach Des Hasler are just two members understood to be part of that working group.

Cronulla's Wade Graham makes the high shot on North Queensland’s Johnathan Thurston that cost him his Origin debut.

But McCallum said what cost Graham his Origin debut was his carry-over points _ and it was up to clubs to fight the minor offences.

While the player runs the risk of being suspended for a game if he loses at the judiciary, he also has no carry-over points if successful.

“This always comes up when you have a high-profile case such as Wade Graham,’’ McCallum told The Daily Telegraph last night.

“We had with Cameron Smith missing the grand final, and Luke Lewis missing out on Origin.

“What players have to be careful of is rather than taking early pleas and being left with carry-over points, they should be challenging it. That’s what the system is there for. The club and player are only putting themselves under pressure by taking the early plea.’’

Wade Graham faced the judiciary earlier this week. Picture: Craig Greenhill

McCallum was also quick to shoot down the idea of a fines’ system, and said it was more often than not the clubs or somebody else who picked up the tab, which was hardly the deterrent for a player.

There was a mixed reaction among the CEOs when it came to tinkering with the points system. Plenty believe the current system works.

Sharks boss Lyall Gorman welcomed the review of the system, and while he could not fault the hearing Graham received, he said it was a shame for players to miss big matches through minor acts.

“Spectators, sponsors, all our stakeholders in the game want the best players on the field,’’ Gorman said.

“You have to draw a line in the sand, and when there are extreme acts you need to send a strong message. But I don’t know too many people who believe grade one sanctions (warrant) missing an Origin game or grand final.’’

Originally published as Greg McCallum says early please at NRL judiciary to blame for big-match bans