Early guilty plea will see Scott avoid ban for hit on Thurston

As a true rugby league fan, I'm tired of the inconsistency of refs and match review panel. The matter is not just about only JT, neither is about QLD vs NSW nor smith vs Gallen. It's about safety of a player who gets smashed when he is trying to kick a ball. In terms of body built, half backs are lighter and smaller so opposition tries to take benefit of that. If someone says Scott's tackle was unintentional, that would be the biggest joke of all time or you didn't watch the game. Yes, he did it intensionally. Not only him many others do the same. It's a tactics. If you hurt the half back, you win the game for your team and you might as well get away with it. The biggest problem is legal tackles are outnumbered by illegal tackles. It's called good tactics gone wrong. But when it gets wrong it's on field referee or match review committee's responsibility to punish the wrong ones however, when we hear from match review committee, they can't give consistent decision. I don't think they want to be biased ( or may be they are), but I think they just have no idea how to give decision. I don't think They even know what tackle is legal or what's not, otherwise there would be consistency in their decisions too. Common NRL if you can't save your players, how are you gonna save your viewers?

Mike, you serious? http://www.couriermail.com.au/video/id-hlYmwwdDqiXZgJxA-5HEd0KdLJYlCVet/Beau-Scott-charged-for-rough-treatment-of-Thurston

WOW watching that tackle again it is quite scary how Scott head locked & tucked Thurston's head into the ground, I can't believe he didn't get a week for this action, maybe Alex was part of retaliation because the Refs are not doing their job if the knights have been allowed to continually get away with this before.

Such a cynic. Surely the courier isn't biased.

At least how incompetent the match review committee is. Ridiculous decision.

Today's Courier Mail had photos of playmakers Ben Hunt, Cherry Evans, Thurston, Brooks, & Cronk & called them sitting ducks, I'm really pleased that Adam Reynolds & Luke Keary & Pearce are not included it's obvious enough that our whinging reporters from the Courier mail don't rate them. I did not think that Scott's tackle was as bad as the Parra players, but he should have missed a couple of games & as long as they tackle the kicker with the arms as it is at the moment I don't mind, the Match officials are there to protect them if they can't then we are in big trouble. Lastly if a Broncos player does anything to Thurston that is illegal play will the Courier Mail scaremongers, sorry reporters blow up like they did with the Knights, probably not as their employer owns 68% of the Broncos.

Man, I along with everybody look forward to the day when decisions are made which are consistent with the rules.

Agreed. The NRL tried to crackdown on players taking kickers out came up with the rule that it needed to be a legitimate tackle. Now you just get the kickers getting smashed by 'legitimate' tackles after they've kicked it. I'd be happy if they just made contact with kickers illegal. You can charge down the ball or you can tackle the kicker while he has the ball but once the ball's gone it's a penalty. That would actually be consistent with the rules.

I've already got my pet hate for this year, and that's the taking out of players without the ball. Either once they've kicked or as they catch the ball. I realise there's a nanosecond between legitimate tackles and non, but in my book late is late. It's a tactic that all teams are trying to refine but there needs to be more policing of the rule to give some protection to players when they're off balance commited and vulnerable. Blokes are going to get fed up with seeing their mates put in danger and they will snap like a dry stick. Then we'll have lengthy suspensions for guys protecting their own because the officials won't do their jobs.

& a reason why crowds are down. Consistency in refereeing & the judicary committee, that is the greatest oxymorone ever seen. New year, new rules & standards, means, just a new book cover, reworded chapter headings inside, along with the words changed around, but the ending is the same. Would love to see the refs paid based on their standards.

When the dual Dally M medalist and great personality of the game nearly gets put in a wheel chair its not about which team wins or loses. I am no QLD fan or Nth Qld fan, but think JT is a legend and possibly an immortal. Scott drove Thurston head first into the ground, wrestled him, pinned his arms and didnt pull out of the tackle. First contact with the ground was JT's head in an axial loading position. Scott showed intent throughout the game to hurt JT and on this occassion Housten and Scott put JT in a dangerous position, they are both guilty but Scott could have stopped or stopped driving downward but continued the tackle. I just cant believe a tackle as bad as that (for me as bad as any Alex Mackinnon or Junior Paulo's last week) can cop a slap on the wrists. It just shows how incompetent the NRL is.

He did have some carry over points but with the early guilty plea he is free to play this weekend.

exactly all this beat up about scott if any one should have been out it should have been Houston if cowboys had of one the game this wouldn't have even been news.

#conspiracy. Bloody ridiculous considering Scott has form.

I thought Houston made the tackle dangerous when he lifted Thurstons leg, why isn't he charged.?

Didn't Scott have some carry over points from Origin last year?

Beau Scott was placed on report twice in this match. I do not understand this at all. Last week someone gets 9 weeks for placing a player in a dangerous position. This week get off for zero weeks suspension and it was more than one offence in the same game. Go figure