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'Kangaroo court': Burgess to face NRL after judiciary criticism

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18th September, 2019
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South Sydney captain Sam Burgess will front the NRL over criticism of its judiciary as the debate over the process further intensified on Wednesday.

In another day of high drama, Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson became the latest to advocate for changes to rules over bans for minor offences in finals matches.

Unhappy over the one-game ban dished out to prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Robinson believes it should be harder to suspend players for finals matches after they commit a particular offence for the first time.

But his views were nowhere near as scathing as Burgess’, who labelled the process a “kangaroo court” in an interview on Tuesday after his one-game ban for a hair pull.

The NRL bit back on Wednesday, asking him to meet with chief executive Todd Greenberg and show cause as to why he should not be reprimanded for the outburst.

“On face value, Sam’s comments about the judiciary breach our code of conduct and are offensive to both the chairman (Supreme Court judge Geoff Bellew) and members of the panel who carry out their duties impartially, without fear or favour,” Greenberg said.

“We take a pragmatic view about most of the debate that occurs around the game.

“However, the NRL Judiciary is a longstanding and independent process based on the principles of natural justice in our court system.

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“Our chair (Bellew) is an esteemed judge of the highest calibre and our panel members are former high-profile players who are independent from clubs.

“The integrity of the system and the people in it should never be questioned.”

Burgess also claimed that players had become subjected to trial by media and social media, and her also accused the game of being reactive.

The Souths forward remains unhappy he was banned from the opening week of the finals for a hair pull on Roosters forward Billy Smith in the final round of the regular season.

The Englishman would have been able to take a fine for the offence, but was ineligible due to receiving more than two convictions during the season.

A similar fate awaited Waerea-Hargreaves on Tuesday night

Accused of a trip, the Roosters prop failed to beat the charge at the judiciary and was banned for the preliminary final against either Melbourne or Parramatta.

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Had it not been his fourth conviction of the year for other offences, he could have escaped with a fine.

“The one thing I will say is missing a game for an incident you haven’t done before that had no impact on the game or anything else, to miss a finals game (is tough),” Robinson said.

“To not have your best players on the park is disappointing for fans. We’d like him out there but it’s not going to change the way we play or think.”

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