Sharks skipper Dale Fincuane has been banned for two games for his high shot on Steohen Crichton, while Corey Waddell has pleaded not guilty to pushing Tino Fa’asuamaleaui. Fincuane and Bulldogs forward Corey Waddell headline the judiciary on Tuesday night as they learn their fate for separate incidents in Round 19.
Finucane pleaded not guilty to a Grade 3 dangerous contact charge for a tackle on Panthers center Stephen Crichton, but has been banned for two games.
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Dog act! Tino says that the eye itches | 00:25
Waddell has been referred straight to the NRL’s judiciary after being charged with an alleged eye poke at Titans skipper Fa’asuamaleaui on an unqualified dangerous contact charge.
Finucane collided with Crichton and left the Panthers star with a nasty cut to his left ear which required a visit to hospital for plastic surgery.
The Sharks star faced a three-game ban if found guilty by the court of appeals, but the Sharks successfully had the charge dropped.
Waddell could face a lengthy stint on the sidelines if found guilty of eye contact, which is considered one of the worst acts on a rugby league field.
FOLLOW WADDELL’S CASE BELOW
Waddell has entered a not guilty plea.
Waddell described what he was trying to accomplish in the tackle and denied putting his fingers in Fa’asuamaleaui’s eyes.
“I got into the tackle anyway I could and found myself in what we call the ‘seat belt’ tackle position,” Waddell said.
“I try to get the ball carrier to give up his base and lose control.
“I put my hand on top of Max’s head and found my hand on Tino’s forehead. I didn’t apply any pressure to his face and then I tried to push my hips into his hips to push him down back.
“With my right hand I tried to grab his shirt and shoulder. My intention was to put him on his back with my teammates falling on top of him.
“As I went over Max’s head, I held Tino’s forehead. At no point did I apply any unnecessary or sloppy pressure to his face.
“As you can see, when he starts to fall to the ground, I let go of my hand. And then he held my hand as he fell to the ground. At no point were my fingers in or around his eyes.”
Waddell’s legal counsel, Nick Ghabor, asked Waddell if he put his fingers in the Titans’ eyes without question.
“Did you ever put your fingers in his eye socket or eyelid?” Ghabar said.
“I never felt my hand in or around his eyes,” Waddell replied.
“Did you ever put your fingers in his eyes?” Ghabar asked.
“No, I didn’t,” Waddell replied.
“Did you ever move your fingers around his eyes?” Ghabar asked.
“No, I didn’t,” Waddell replied.
NRL prosecutor Patrick Knowles showed Waddell a still photo of the alleged eye gouge.
“Looking at this photograph, the evidence is not correct because your fingers are in the eye socket, right,” Knowles said.
“I think in all honesty my fingers are across the bridge of his nose and the bottom of his forehead,” Waddell replied.
“You’re talking about a split second. My fingers were never in his eyes.
“You’re talking about the photo, you can’t tell the pressure from a photo. You’re talking about a split second for that whole second.
“I understand my hands are not in the best place and in a perfect world they would have been, but without pressure I put pressure on his eyes.”
SANCTION OF TWO FINUCANE COPS MATCHES
Finucane was first represented by Nick Ghabar with Patrick Knowles acting as NRL prosecutor.
The judicial panel was shown seven camera angles of Finucane’s confrontation with Crichton without commentary or audio.
Ghabar asked Finucane about the clash with the Sharks skipper explaining he was trying to pressure an isolated player with his side trailing 14-10 with nine minutes to go.
Ghabar noted that Crichton fell when he received the ball.
Finucane said: “I couldn’t have avoided that contact at the time. I felt the contact with the left side of my face make contact with the left side of Stephen Crichton’s face and that was the only contact that I heard.
“I didn’t feel any contact with my shoulder and his face.”
Finucane said the clash was an accident.
“The aim was to limit the amount of meters they could make up the field by getting to the player who was isolated,” Finucane said.
“It’s not a standard tackle to try and, as I said, it wasn’t my intention to make head-to-head contact. But Stephen Crichton’s pivoting movement and leg drop caused the collision .
“I wouldn’t change what I did.
“I sympathize with what happened to Stephen and have spoken to him since then. I wouldn’t change the speed of the line with when he came out of the game. It was completely accidental, head tackles in rugby league.”
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Ghabar asked why Finucane has been charged when head-to-head clashes are part of the game.
“Head-on collisions are an accepted risk of the game,” he said.
“What is special about this contact that makes it unacceptable compared to other boss fights.
“He bends his left leg forward. He can’t get down to make an effective tackle. There’s nothing respectful he could have done to avoid the tackle. That’s what he told you.
“You’ll notice there’s no incident report from the referee in front of you. The referee saw that this was nothing more than the head bump, which is an accepted risk of playing rugby league.
“Every player who goes out on the field accepts that an accidental header hits us in the rush to play the game. Based on my submission, the contact here is not illegal.”
Knowles argued that the entry was sloppy because of the small margin for error.
“The question for the panel members is whether or not the player Finucane executed the tackle carelessly,” he said.
“The confrontation was carried out carelessly because of the force, because the contact was to the head and because the risk of injury is high.”
Ghabar felt that Crichton’s injury should not affect the decision.
“What you should not do in my respectful submission is look at it in retrospect because of the outcome,” Ghabar said.
“You shouldn’t find a player to blame for the result, a laceration to the ear of the Crichton player. You should look at the team to find out what it is.”
Judge Geoff Bellew told former panel members Dallas Johnson and Bob Lindner that the simple question to answer was “Are you satisfied the player did not play to the standard of care required of him?”
They unanimously found Finucane guilty and resulted in a grade three (three week) suspension.
However, the Sharks tried to downgrade him and were successful with Finucane reducing his ban to two weeks.
Tino hits Tevita with a shoulder charge | 00:36
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