Rugby League: Freeman happy as Seuseu crunches into action

BLACKBURN - Stuart Fielden could only reserve judgment on the head shot that left him dazed and yesterday's test between Great Britain and the Kiwis at boiling point.

Fielden was led off Ewood Park in the second half of the Kiwis' 30-16 first test triumph after a crunching tackle by opposing prop Jerry Seuseu that ignited the only significant scuffle in a bruising clash.

"I'm a man who doesn't comment on things unless I've seen it," Fielden said when quizzed on his views.

"The boys said it looked a bit of a cheap shot to the head, but I can't say that until I've seen the video.

"So what if it was? I can't do anything about it.

"The referee [Australian Steve Clark] obviously didn't take any action."

Fielden had no recollection of the incident, but was "feeling fine" at the after- match function.

Team doctor Chris Brooks cleared him of serious concussion and he will be available for the second test in Huddersfield this Sunday.

While Fielden was reluctant to cry foul, abrasive second-rower Adrian Morley was quick to seek retribution.

He retaliated on behalf of his wobbly team-mate, lining up Seuseu when play resumed and charging into the prop off the ball.

Although penalised and placed on report, there was no fallout or further action taken after the match.

"We had a bit of a scuffle - there's nothing much in it," Morley said.

He took similar action in the NRL grand final last month, to great effect.

Then he crunched Richard Villasanti moments after the New Zealand Warriors prop rushed in and clashed heads with Roosters captain Brad Fittler.

The hit on Fittler and Morley's subsequent response helped to inspire the side to their first title since 1975.

Yesterday the tactic did not quite deliver the same result.

"Once they got in front we needed something to try to spark us up, but it didn't work," Morley said.

Seuseu maintained there was nothing sinister in the hit.

"There was no malice or bad intention there.

"It was just one of those tackles."

Kiwis coach Gary Freeman said the tackle and response added to the spectacle.

"It's great to see, isn't it?

"When two sides are going hammer and tongs there's confrontation, you can't help that.

"They knew he was going to fly out of the line to hit Jerry."

Meanwhile, it is unlikely Henry Fa'afili will be called on to provide a reference when Karl Pratt continues his rugby league job hunt.

Fa'afili's three tries harmed his marker's employment prospects yesterday.

Attitude problems saw Pratt, 22, jettisoned by Leeds at the end of this season and he was hoping strong performances against the Kiwis would interest another Super League club.

The evening gradually turned into a personal nightmare for Pratt as pinpoint- accurate Kiwi kicks cruelly exposed his deficiencies under the high ball.

The final indignity arrived in the 71st minute when he knocked the ball on with the line open and Great Britain holding a faint glimmer of hope at 24-10 down.

Fa'afili was not about to twist the knife further as he celebrated his first treble since "the under-18s at Manukau."

"I was just lucky to be at the right place at the right time," he said.

Great Britain coach David Waite, who gave Pratt the benefit of the doubt after his demise at Leeds, said the rookie was not wholly responsible for the defeat.

"He blames himself too much. He's very disappointed but that's not the reason we were behind the eight ball in the end."

In the Independent, Dave Hadfield wrote that Great Britain were "punished for a series of damaging errors" in the second half.

"If there was any reason for optimism, it was that the tourists had been running short of bodies, with David Vaealiki and Ruben Wiki ruled out for this one, and no back substitutes on their bench."

In the Sunday Telegraph, Michael Crossley said Britain's "inability to deal with high kicks to the line was brutally driven home at Ewood Park."

- NZPA