Issac Luke (left) and Jake Trbojevic (right) were cited for dangerous tackles.
Issac Luke (left) and Jake Trbojevic (right) were cited for dangerous tackles.
Comment:
The Warriors will have further cause for resentment and general suspicion towards the NRL, after the release of the judiciary charges from Saturday's round of matches.
Warriors hooker Issac Luke and Manly lock Jake Trbojevic were both involved in tackles that went above the horizontal, both put on report and both charged.
Luke's offence has been judged a grade-two dangerous throw, meaning he will miss two weeks with an early guilty plea and be up for a longer penalty if the club chooses to contest the charge.
Meanwhile Trbojevic, whose tackle looked considerably more dangerous than Luke's by any objective measure, has only been hit with a grade-one charge, which means he will be free to play next week for the Sea Eagles with an early guilty plea.
It seems to continue the theme of preferential treatment for some teams over others, which was glaringly exposed with the apparent one-sided refereeing display in the Warriors 24-22 loss to the Eels on Saturday night.
That, unfortunately, is the only way to explain it, if you analyse both incidents.
Luke's hit on Dylan Brown starts as a strong, aggressive tackle — the kind that coaches applaud and fans love — as he smashes into the Parramatta half and lifts him up.
Warriors hooker Issac Luke lifted Parramatta's Dylan Brown, who landed on his back.
However Luke does lose control of the tackle a bit, as he lifts Brown's right leg, and the Eels player lands awkwardly.
But if Luke's is dangerous — which it is — Trbojevic's tackle on Jahrome Hughes could have been disastrous.
It was like watching a spear tackle from the 1970s, and the Kangaroos forward lifts and flips Hughes into a vertical position, and then drives himself headfirst into the turf.
It was something of a miracle that the Kiwis player didn't suffer a serious injury, and each replay is jarring to watch. Trbojevic's reaction is telling, as he knows something has gone badly wrong as soon as he has made the tackle.
But the match review panel saw it differently. No doubt they will have some complicated explanation involving physics, intent, timing and the angle of the runner.
Manly's Jake Trbojevic planted Melbourne fullback Jahrome Hughes on his head.
That will be one theory, but Warriors fans might have another.
Trbojevic is a blue-eyed boy in Sydney league circles, an Origin hero, a Kangaroos representative and one of two brothers playing for a glamour team on the northern beaches, currently in highly publicised negotiations to re-sign with his hometown club.
Luke has several previous offences to his name over a long career, plays for the Warriors and is a Māori kid from Taranaki. That might be drawing a long bow, but after the events of Saturday night, it's hard to discount anything.
Parramatta surely set a NRL record in that match as they went unpenalised between the 10th and 79th minute, while the Warriors were hit with nine straight penalties.
There's been nothing like that since the notorious French referees of the 1970s and 1980s, who, when in charge of matches involving their own national side, did everything except wear an eye patch.
