NRL Match Review Committee must go

Ooohhh Scott. No common sense around this lot... It is Gallop's NRL that we are talking about!. Dictated to by media, Knee Jerk, reactions, No long term planning. need I say more?.

Scott, that makes no sense at all. Anyway he's been found not guilty, so it's all academic now...

Dunno about good memory mate,but when your team has only ever played in one GF you tend to never forget the turning points in that game. & i agree we are very very lucky to have him..he is a 100% competitor...even when we are getting flogged ,he never gives up.

Having now just seen the incident all over the news, I'm as unconvinced about it being an accident as I am that he'll escape suspension. It doesn't look as instant as I first thought - it even looks like Thurston may have been trying to feign obstruction..

You know he ran over a ref, right? Did it on TV and all. Played over here in Perth even. Smush, right over a ref. Who was right in front of him. Smush. Bright pink shirt an all? Do you think there might be SOMETHING involved here that possibly ISN'T SOO related? Like the fact he ran down a referee?

I refer to the current Judiciary. The respect shown to the Maroons by the Judiciary is commendable and loyalty to Ricky Ticky's Blues not unexpected. Clearly, perhaps a rush of blood, but they in their eternal wisdom, have decreed by their actions to haul Thurston before themselves indicated they have no faith in the VB Blues or their coach and have decided to give them a leg up. This may well be their last chance to officiate their biased cr.p. After all this is part of the reason why the IC is being hatched. What has been dished up to non NSW teams over the years particularly the Warriors and earlier on Broncos by the "learned men in the judiciary and whistle blowers " has been and is a disgrace. The IC can't come quick enough! -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download The Roar's iPhone App in the App Store here.

I disagree Scott - if the suggestion was he did it on purpose, they would have charged him with intent, which I don't believe they've done. If the directive was put out at the start of the year that it's the players responibility to avoid colisions, then there has to be an element of crime=time here. Don't forget, he didn't just brush Cecchin's shirt here, he fully cleaned him up. You say Thurston was blind sided, well what about Cecchin? Surely he should be able to make his way around the field - even if in the wrong position - without the fear of being cleaned up by a player?

Dear Scott, Referees and Umpires are people too and should not be run over. If you run over one of us you really ought to be sanctioned, especially when the referee happens to be standing right in front of you at the time in a bright pink shirt. Should have been difficult to miss. It is especially important to not run us over as we spend most of our time actually learning the rules to these ruddy sports instead of bulking up to withstand being run over. Sincerely, Nathan PS. Chrisssake if he didn't want to get fined he could have at least made sure there was nothing directly in front of him; particularly that near to the goal posts.

Thurston is only in danger of missing Origin because of a 20% loading from the 'kick' on David Williams in Origin last year (or was it the year before?). Without that loading he pleads guilty, misses the Cowboys game this weekend and nobody writes squat. What goes around comes around.

Given the double standards we see at this time every year, I don't see why they don't just make official and exclude origin from any suspension. If it's deemed in the best interests of the game to allow Origin incumbents to be above the law, then write that into the law. Personally, I think it should go the other way - there's no greater punishment than denying a player the opportunity to play for their state. It might have taught Jarryd Hayne and Billy Slater a thing or two last year, and Thurston might get that wake-up call he's been crying out for as a result of this recent charge. Maybe there's a best of both worlds. Players can opt to play origin while suspended, but in doing so, have their suspension points multiplied by the grade of the offense. Or even better, allow their inclusion in rep matches at a monetary cost that can be contributed to by the fans. Let's say Thurston gets two weeks, ruling him out of Origin. Give the punters an opportunity to put their money where their mouths are and buy his way back in. Donations can be made to a purse, and if the sum of donations exceeds the player's estimated salary, they can play. That way, Thurston wins because he gets to play. QLD wins, because they get to keep their first choice halfback. NSW wins, because an upset victory is not compromised by suspension of the opposition. The fans win because the best team on either side is available and best of all, there's a pot of a few hundred thousand dollars that can be fed into Men of League / grass roots RL / indigenous communities / charity / etc.

Willy i am a cows fan...& i still blame JT for the loss of the 05 GF...we were on top till he lost the plot with the touchie . He has form in the past with refs..i will not deny it...BUT This year he seems to have matured alot & has toned it down when talking to the refs. I cant recall one accassion this yr when he went off at one..

Full disclosure: I am a QLD fan. Now that that's out of the way, on to business. I don't think he will get charged with anything, if he does he will miss 1 game at worst. What rubs me up the wrong way is the timing involved in the charge. Brett thinks that the incident and the impending Origin game should be viewed in isolation, but if you look at it from another angle it seems a little convenient that what seems to be a very innocuous accident gets bumped up to a Grade 2 charge, which just so happens to be enough to rule him out of Origin. And this on the back of Uate walking away from an incident that was seemingly much more black and white, and that had more observers of the game in agreement (a lot of notable figures, some NSWelshman, felt he should have gotten a suspension) will just be fuel to the fire of the QLD conspiracy theorists. Just my two Maroon coloured cents.

You're assuming it was accidental...