The already strained relationship between the NRL and North Queensland has been tested again with the Cowboys copping a $10,000 fine for coach Paul Green claiming they have lost faith in the match review and judiciary process.
Green fuelled another North Queensland conspiracy theory when asked why the club did not defend Tariq Sims’ grade three shoulder charge and instead accept a five-week ban that ended the Newcastle-bound back-rower’s Cowboys career.
“The biggest challenge for this judicial system is consistency,” he said.
“And me as coach and the club have no faith that there is any consistency in what they do … so we felt it was better to move on.”
NRL head of football Todd Greenberg sounded livid with not only Green but also the fact the Cowboys’ official Twitter account repeated the North Queensland coach’s explosive claim.
“The members of the match review committee and judiciary have hundreds of games experience and they do not deserve to have their integrity and credibility questioned,” he said.
“If the club wanted to dispute the charge against Tariq Sims they could have gone through an independent process and put their case.
“Instead, they have elected to attack the credibility of the match review committee and that cannot be tolerated.”
The Cowboys were fuming after Sims was charged a week after no action was taken on Canterbury giant Tony Williams’ hit that forced a concussed Aidan Sezer of the Gold Coast off the field.
Green also noted that front-rower Jared Waerea-Hargreaves is free to play for the Sydney Roosters against the Cowboys in Friday night’s semi-final after being cleared of a last round high tackle.
“It’s cost us and Tariq. It doesn’t seem to cost anybody else in the competition,” he said.
Green had also criticised the judiciary in May when Blues pivot Josh Reynolds earned a downgrading for a dangerous throw on Maroons and Cowboys veteran Brent Tate in Origin I.
It all added another chapter to the tumultuous history between the NRL and the Cowboys.
North Queensland last season accused the NRL of being “Sydney-centric” after a refereeing howler marred their finals exit for the second straight season.
And in April this year the NRL hierarchy was forced to fly to Townsville on Cowboys boss Peter Jourdain’s request to apologise for another official’s blunder in a round eight loss to Manly and also “to assure disillusioned supporters that the region matters to the league”.
“We felt there was sufficient evidence to argue (our case) … given what the NRL showed us at the start of the season what constituted a shoulder charge,” Green said of Sims’ charge.
“However, it was a big risk for Tariq (and) it would have been a huge distraction for us.”
It marked Sims’ third suspension of 2014, sidelining him for a total of eight weeks.
Meanwhile, Test backrower Anthony Watmough will miss Manly’s semi-final against Canterbury on Saturday night after an early plea for a grade one dangerous throw.
If Manly lose, Watmough may have played his last game for the club after being linked to Parramatta.
And Manly captain Jamie Lyon escaped suspension with an early guilty plea for his part in a lifting tackle on South Sydney’s Greg Inglis that landed Watmough in trouble.
up in the north
Guest
Personally I would have given Sims at least one week for being so stupid by doing the hit. There was no gain for the team at that stage of the game for what he did. In fact he has left a void that will be hard to fill, so for that I am still very annoyed. My point though is compared to recent punishments it is not equitable with recent foul play gradings. Whether it was grade 2,3 or zero is almost redundant. The arbitrary way the MRC hand out their verdicts is what is giving me the willies.
eagleJack
Guest
It could be argued that the hit was a Grade 2. A very deserved Grade 2. But even then Sims would miss 3 weeks because of prior loading for a similar offence. The Cowboys knew that, so effectively they decided not to fight as there was no benefit to the club. He'd still be gone for the season. Nothing to do with the inconsistent MRC. That was just something Green and Parr threw in for a headline.
Kepu
Guest
Didn't Melbourne get off a similar comment...
up in the north
Guest
No it isn't rocket science. What it is, is blatant unfairness in the grading of offences. As I said in the above post, have a look at the foul play hits over the past few weeks and tell me in all honesty that Sims's hit warranted a grade 3. That's all. There are too many people without an axe to grind that believe the grading was severe in the extreme. Not only Cowbies or Queensland supporters either. But those with a genuine love of footy and more than a passing interest in the direction the game is headed.
Pot Stirrer
Guest
Whats so hard to understand, the difference between the other tackles and Simm's shoulder charge was the intent. Simm's wanted to hurt him, he had time to pull out and chose not to. FFS its not rocket science
Griggso
Guest
Well technically speaking, they are a foundation club given they were part of the first official NRL season in 1998. I think the only current club who was not there at the start is the Gold Coast Titans. I would suppose that nobody makes any mention of this because the NRL is not yet 20 years old and 15 of the 16 teams could be considered foundation clubs.
up in the north
Guest
This discussion seems to have gone off at a tangent, the reason most thinking people are dirty - nay filthy - is because of the inconcistencies with the match revue committee. It's these clowns who decide if any actions during a round are deemed to have broken rules. And they reccomend the penalty. They are being criticised because in the last month there have been that many incidents where foul play has been dealt with unfairly and unequally that Paul Green and the Cowboys club are willing to give the NRL via the MRC the two finger salute. All one has to do is look at a random selection of incidents on your social network of choice to see examples of foul play, then look at the grading given by the impartial MRC to see that Green is right. They gave Sims a grade 3 charge, which equates to 5 - 7 weeks. Green & the club believe because of how harsh that is, - given comparisons - they may as well walk away now, because the fix is already in.
The Barry
Guest
The judiciary is inconsistent but to say we're not appealing because the judiciary is inconsistent is ridiculous. The only motives are a) they know he's guilty b) there's no way he'll get less than 3 weeks and c) it's an opportunity to create a siege mentality.
MAX
Guest
Why they did not appeal is beyond me . They would still had the option to bring their current approach into play to stir Northern emotions. Tariq's actions and relevant guilt were well covered by ROC yesterday . The alleged reactions of Todd Greenberg are understandable. A seemingly 'Kevin Rudd' lip service to the many problems facing our game are now dealt with by the odd public utterance and/or hefty fine being sufficient to resolve any problem. I respect Todd Greenberg more than any of the hierarchy at Moore Park. It grieves me to see him act in a way that he is a mere puppet to a failing system.
Joel
Guest
Griggso Question for you ... Why isn't the Cowboys called a foundation club of the NRL?
LexTeeS
Guest
Mate they've been indisputably robbed in their last two finals campaigns. In both they still had the opportunity to win. But had to do a lot more than the opposition to do so. Here's to hoping this is the major controversy in their campaign this year. They have a much better chance of bouncing back. But let's just say if it was the middle of the season and Tariq was needed in the blues squad there would be quite the precedent for him to get off.
LexTeeS
Guest
Really looking forward to the comparison of future suspensions with those dished to the sharks. Is Sims hit comparable to being caught taking performance enhancing drugs? Not once but twice!! That's the equivalent. That's a whole lot of peptides ;)
Trenno
Guest
Well said.
Griggso
Guest
"But this whole “The NRL is against the Cowboys” crap just shows you the small minds that inhabit the people up north!" I think you'll find your sweeping generalizations are more indicative of the size of the mind that inhabits your own head.
Wild Man From Borneo
Roar Rookie
The hit was late. Whether he deserved 5-7 weeks is debatable based on the other charges but, I thought he should've been sent off for the hit it was that late. The Judiciary is THE biggest joke in the NRL and, that's saying something! But this whole "The NRL is against the Cowboys" crap just shows you the small minds that inhabit the people up north!
Benedict Arnold
Guest
You know green is right, there is no consistency. Guerra gets one week for a chicken wing which was a disgusting act. In the same game Napa gets 3 weeks for shoulder charging. The match review committee also didn't ban Tony Williams for his that same week, even though they are supposed to review the games for offences not detected by the referees. I just don't get how sims tackle was worthy of 5-7 weeks and Guerra gets a whopping 1 for one of the grubbiest acts in the game. His suspension is greater than Paul Gallen's.
parrafan
Guest
had to laugh at that reference. It is apt though. No tin foil hat, the judiciary is glaringly inconsistent and more often than not high profile players/teams get a lesser sentence for the same act of foul play.
Trenno
Guest
Lets give Elma a clap for being so original.
Mike from Tari
Guest
We are all confused by the Judiciary, not just the NRL one but the QRL as well, I am in Greens court as far as this goes , but the Judiciary having a Bias with The Cowboys, well "ding, ding, ding" the Broncos have the same problem & Green was at the Broncos as a coach & player, I don't agree with. Hargreaves should have gone, Lyon should have gone as he instigated the lifting, maybe having ex- players on the judiciary leads to a perceived bias.
Roarsome
Guest
That Round 8 blunder has cost them a top 4 finish why has no one mentioned that? Maybe that's next weeks fuel to the fire should the Sims siege get them through this week.