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Melbourne Storm fullback Billy Slater has found himself at the centre of controversy on Friday morning after he appeared to kick Bulldogs player David Klemmer in the face in his side’s 22-18 win last night.
The incident occurred two minutes into the second half with the reigning Premiers holding a ten-point lead over the Bulldogs.
The Queensland number one leapt high into the air to diffuse a high, cross-field bomb from Kris Keating in the style that has made Slater one of the best fullbacks in recent memory.
As he made the leap and subsequent catch, Slater’s leg jutted out from his body at a 45-degree angle and caught Klemmer straight in the face.
Bizarrely, Slater was initially awarded the penalty before referee Ben Cummins overturned the call following a directive from the video referee.
Slater had been facing a suspension after an early guilty plea spared him a ban last week for his hit on Antonio Winterstein, but the NRL this morning cleared Slater of any wrongdoing.
The kick has polarised fans in the aftermath as fans debate the intentionality, or otherwise, of Slater’s effort with and has divided opinion here at The Roar, with Roar expert Luke Doherty backing the NRL’s decision to clear the Storm flyer.
The AFL-style catch, in which he uses his right knee as protection from on-coming opposition, has been Slater’s trademark through his decade-long NRL career, as seen in the following example.
The crucial question is whether last night’s catch was indeed the same type of action.
Did Slater deliberately straightened his leg out at Klammer, or was it just part of Slater’s action in the air to stabilise himself?
Footage showed Slater looking in the direction of Klammer as he went into the air for the ball, but a front-on camera angle seems to indicate Slater had closed his eyes as he made the catch – just to complicate things even further.
Were the NRL right in their decision to absolve Billy Slater of any wrongdoing from this incident this morning?
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