NSW back-rower Greg Bird believes he deserves an apology from the NRL after claiming he was mistakenly sin-binned for his role in the brawl which marred Queensland’s Origin II victory.
Bird was one of four players – along with teammate Trent Merrin and Maroons duo Justin Hodges and Brent Tate – to get sin-binned midway through the second half at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night.
But the Blues firebrand was adamant he did nothing wrong – claiming players needed clarification of the rules which were tightened after the brawl which took the gloss of NSW’s series-opening win.
“You abide by the rules and still get punished – I don’t understand,” Bird said.
“I ran in and tried to break the fight up and still somehow got ten in the bin for not even throwing a punch.
“I abide by the rule. I should have just unleashed, I would have got the same penalty.
“It’s frustrating when you abide by the rules and still get penalised.
“I just wish we could get some clear clarification on what we are and are not allowed to do.”
Asked what the referee told him as he was marched he said: “He said you ran in so you get ten in the bin.
“I hope someone comes out and explains the rules – an apology would be nice because I didn’t break the rules – plain and simple.”
Merrin, who started the brawl when he threw the first punch, put his actions down to the “heat of the moment.”
“It’s a game of footy, things get heated, it just happens,” Merrin said.
“That (getting sin-binned) was always going to happen, it’s a consequence. It was a heat of the moment thing, we just get on with game three now.”
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