South Sydney coach Michael Maguire is confident Issac Luke will be cleared to face Canterbury in next Sunday’s grand final when he fronts the NRL judiciary panel on Tuesday night.
Luke was charged with a grade one lifting tackle by the code’s match review committee on Sunday morning and the Rabbitohs responded through a statement within an hour to vehemently state they would fight to clear the Kiwi hooker’s name.
The 27-year-old was sanctioned in the first half of the Rabbitohs’ 32-22 win over the Sydney Roosters for a challenge on Sonny Bill Williams and faces a one match ban.
Williams, who heads to New Zealand rugby after a successful two-year stint at the Roosters, said Luke shouldn’t miss a grand final because of the incident.
Maguire said he would have challenged the charge even if it occurred during a regular season game and was more than happy to roll the dice in front of the three-man panel.
“He’s disappointed being in the situation but he believes in the system and we’ve seen it work in the right way and we have to go through all the formalities now,” Maguire told Triple M.
“I’ve stated that I believe we’ll be fine and we have to move forward with this case.”
Penrith-bound Api Koroisau, who deputised for Luke earlier in the year, would be favourite to take his place should he fail to get his charge overturned.
Bulldogs coach Des Hasler said after his side’s preliminary final win over Penrith, he expected Luke to play and not suffer the same experience as Melbourne’s Cameron Smith in 2008 and Roosters back-rower Luke Ricketson in 2004, who were rubbed out at the judiciary.
“He’s got a fair chance of getting off,” Hasler said.
“It just depends how lenient they want to be with consistency.”
The loss of Luke would be a huge blow for the Rabbitohs, who were outstanding in their win over the reigning premiers.
Expectation levels are already at fever pitch for fans of the foundation club who are revelling in being involved in a first decider since 1971.
The club will host a fan day on Monday for supporters to meet the players with a crowd of more than one thousand expected to be in attendance at Redfern Oval.
But halfback Adam Reynolds, who knows better than most how much a premiership would mean to the club, said the players wouldn’t fall into the trap of complacency.
“My whole family is Souths fans it’s a huge honour putting on the red and green jumper in a grand final,” Reynolds told AAP.
“To come this far is a great achievement but the job isn’t done yet.
“I remember the first final I saw us play in was at Brookie Oval in 2007. That night didn’t end too well as we lost.
“The club has changed in all areas since then, but it’s our job now to make sure we just need to turn up with the right attitude again.”
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