Category: Sports

NRL match review committee members spent almost an hour deliberating over a Nelson Asofa-Solomona tackle before concluding the Melbourne prop had no case to answer.

The panel’s boss, Luke Patten, described any contact with Warriors hooker Wayde Egan as “possibly minor”.

Asofa-Solomona’s failure to attract a charge for an apparent forearm to the face and neck region of Egan sparked incredulity from some commentators, including Immortal Andrew Johns. “Look, I back the players all the time, and I don’t apologize for that but to me, that’s four months’ suspension,” Johns said on Nine’s Sunday Footy Show.

Patten took the unusual step of recording a video on Monday to explain how the panel had arrived at its decision not to charge Asofa-Solomona.

According to sources familiar with the situation, Patten and his fellow match review members agonized over the tackle for 45 minutes before deciding not to issue a further sanction against Asofa-Solomona, one of the most charged players in the game.

The NRL said it had clearer vision of Roosters enforcer Jared Waerea-Hargreaves’ elbow into Manly debutant Zac Fulton, which resulted in the Kiwi international being fined, as opposed to the camera angles of Asofa-Solomona’s tackle on Egan.

Patten said the match review committee was comfortable Asofa-Solomona was trying to create space between himself and the ball carrier to avoid a crusher tackle, and decided against classifying the incident as a head slam.

A replay appeared to show Asofa-Solomona forcefully dropping his forearm onto the chin of Egan, who left the field with what he later said was two cracked teeth, despite initial fears he had broken his jaw.

One of the game’s great rivalries is renewed at 4 Pines Park as the home side fight to keep their final hopes alive by downing the enigmatic Eels.

The blue and golds are walking a little taller after upsetting the Panthers on Friday while Manly endured a tough night against the Roosters with seven key players missing the game for personal reasons.

When these sides met at CommBank Stadium in round 11 it was the Eels squeaking home 22-20, with Manly losing Tom Trbojevic for the season to a shoulder injury.

Des Hasler’s men will be hoping for better luck on home soil as they look to avenge that defeat and get on a roll towards the finals.

The Rundown

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Sea Eagles: The Sea Eagles have Jason Saab, Christian Tuipulotu, Tolutau Koula, Haumole Olakau’atu and Toafofoa Sipley back in the starting side but Sean Keppie (shoulder) remains sidelined. Andrew Davey suffered a head knock against the Roosters but has been named to play and Ben Trbojevic is back from the head knock he suffered in Round 19. Dylan Walker and Martin Taupau reverted to the bench after starting last week.

Eels: Jake Arthur takes over at halfback for the injured Mitch Moses in the only change to the squad that took care of the Panthers in Round 20. Arthur starts at halfback for the first time in 2022 after playing five-eighth in rounds 7 and 8.

key match-up

Reuben Garrick v Clint Gutherson: Manly’s No.1 continues to pile on the points and finish off the inside work of DCE and Kieran Foran. Life without Tom Trbojevic would be a lot tougher for Manly if not for Garrick’s 163 meters per game and his ability to break the line. King Gutho will take on even more responsibility with Mitch Moses out injured and there’s no doubt the Eels skipper is up for the job. Gutherson has racked up 11 tries, seven try assists, 10 line breaks and 152 meters per game in another fine season.

Stat Attack

Mitch Moses leads the NRL in try assists with 20 so the Eels will need to find a new avenue to the tryline with their star hafback nursing an injured finger. His halves partner Dylan Brown has 13 try assists. Sea Eagles halfback Daly Cherry-Evans has come up with 15 try assists in 2022.

This week on the real footy podcast, Sam McClure, Caroline Wilson and Jake Niall discuss the Blues, who were out-hunted and outworked by the Crows. Do the Blues have a “pick and choose” problem this season?

Though they rack up big numbers when it comes to possessions, Carlton have an inefficient game style. The big numbers are looking like junk stats, because they’re over-possessing the ball and not taking territory. With two big key forwards in Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay, moving the ball forward quickly and directly would be the better option. There’s also an issue up forward, where the gap between McKay’s best and worst performances are just too big. And why was Jack Silvagni dropped? Carlton’s team is stacked with enough talent to blow opposition out of the water, but they’ve left themselves at risk of falling out of the eight in the run home to September.

Chasing down the seventh-placed Blues in eighth spot are St Kilda, who kept their final hopes alive by beating Hawthorn. But this week the Saints come up against the Cats. Are they any chance of repeating their success from earlier in the season? And does their season hinge on it?

Richmond also kept themselves in the hunt for a finals spot with their comeback win over Brisbane, but the result said as much about the Lions as it did about their opponents. Some of their misses were inexcusable and a lack of discipline at the end of the game cost the Lions. Will it leave a seed of doubt for the team in any big September clashes at the MCG?

Melbourne and Collingwood will play off for a second spot on Friday night and the Dees look like they’re back in town after beating Fremantle in round 20. Was it a reset for Melbourne, or are there still questions about their form?

At the other end of the ladder, the Giants are struggling and interim coach Mark McVeigh gave an extraordinary post-match press conference after their loss to the Swans. We take a look at the list strategy and decisions at GWS and where they might have gone wrong.

Plus, the latest on where things stand in the broadcast rights negotiations, Jack Ginnivan’s post-match interview about his mental health, the contenders for coach of the year, the likelihood of Alastair Clarkson joining North Melbourne and much more.

Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.

“It didn’t get to me, so that in itself tells probably says I don’t how much was there or what wasn’t there,” O’Brien said. “It didn’t get through to me to make any decision on. Whether it was stopped from David’s end, or it was just an inquiry. I think it’s dead and buried at the moment.”

The Knights have been in freefall with pressure mounting on O’Brien to avoid being the fourth coach sacked before the season is out.

Meanwhile, Jake Arthur returns to the halves for Parramatta with Mitchell Moses sidelined for up to a month with a broken middle finger.

The coach’s son was subjected to boos when his name was read out on the big screen a fortnight ago at CommBank Stadium, but has been backed by his teammates to handle whatever comes his way.

“He’s played there [in the halves] before, he’s a really good defender and a competitor and that’s what we love about him,” Eels hooker Reed Mahoney said.

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Stephen Crichton has been named in the centers for Penrith ahead of Saturday’s clash against Canberra, but will be given until kick-off to make sure his left ear, which underwent emergency plastic surgery last week, is at no risk of splitting.

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