Another fine mess: Asofa-Solomona avoiding ban highlights flaws in new judiciary system

The NRL has not fixed the judiciary system because that is an impossible task.

Just like any judicial system, there will always be detractors. The 11th-hour changes to the NRL set-up at the start of the season have simplified the process somewhat but it’s not perfect by a long stretch.

The fact that Nelson Asofa-Solomona was able to escape any meaningful sanction for the Storm’s dangerous and cowardly high shot on Eels prop Makahesi Makatoa is a perfect example of the imperfect system. In news that surprises nobody, he accepted the $1000 fine on Monday rather than risk the $1500 full whack.

The two big boppers had been going at it in Saturday’s thriller at AAMI Park and it appears Asofa-Solomona decided to dish out a bit of retribution to his opponent in the 55th minute of the match.

Makatoa was held by two Storm defenders and, with his feet planted on the ground, was being wheeled to the ground when Asofa-Solomona hit him with a swinging arm to the back of his head.

The Kiwi international should have at least been sin-binned if not sent off but was merely penalised and put on report. 

Makatoa was replaced soon afterwards but in another rule change for 2022, teams only receive a free interchange for incidents when a player is sin-binned or sent off, not just when they’re put on report. 

So apart from a kick downfield and an extra set of six, there was nothing but pain for Parra and a rap on the knuckles for the home side.

And when the match review committee scrutinised the incident, it was classified a grade-one careless high tackle. As the cool kids say, WTAF.

That means that this incident is basically considered the bare minimum for a charge to be levelled against a player. 

Anyone who does a high shot less than this hit from now on should not even warrant a charge under that rationale.

Under the previous demerit points-based system which added 50% and 20% loading for similar and non-similar incidents respectively, Asofa-Solomona would have been banned.

He copped a one-match suspension last June after he was found guilty of dropping his knee onto the face of Titans opponent Joe Vuna during a play-the-ball after also receiving a fine for a careless high tackle on Jayden Campbell in the same game.

Mitch Barnett is sent off for his jaw to the elbow of Chris Smith on Saturday in Bathurst. (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)

In his return game from that suspension, Asofa-Solomona then earned a two-match ban for dangerous contact on the head/neck of Tigers forward Joe Ofahengaue in Round 15.

When the NRL rushed through its judiciary reforms on the morning of the first match of the season, it announced the slate had been wiped clean for all players so their previous judiciary record would not count against them. 

That doesn’t mean repeat offenders will now be able to run riot – the new system punishes them on a sliding scale for each offence – but it has given them a honeymoon period at the start of this season where players like Asofa-Solomona will benefit from light punishments for an incident like this.

Anything rated a grade-one offence now only incurs a fine apart from reckless high tackles. Does anyone outside the match review committee think that tackle was anything but reckless? They at least got the Mitch Barnett decision right by referring that straight to the judiciary.

It’s a thankless task on the match review committee which will never please everyone but when a tackle like the Asofa-Solomona one only results in a fine, the criticism is not only warranted but easily avoidable.

A professional sport can’t claim to be cracking down on forceful contact to the head in one breath and allowing this kind of action to be “punished” with all the forceful contact of a feather duster.

The spectre of litigation over concussions should surely be large enough to prevent any official from being seen to be going easy on high shots. Apparently not. 

A lengthy match review process was not needed for this hit. Fox League commentator Michael Ennis summed up all you needed to know as it happened. 

“It’s direct contact to the back of the head,” Ennis said. “It’s a swinging arm, and he has had time to plant himself and think about it. It is deliberate.”

The Eels had every right to be complaining to the NRL about the injustice – if they hadn’t eked out a win in extra time perhaps they would have kicked up more of a stink about it.

Match review committee chairman Luke Patten said the player’s actions were “deemed as careless whilst the risk of injury was assessed as low with Makatoa getting to his feet and playing the ball quickly” in a statement.

“There was a clear and quick drop in height from Makatoa as he is tackled by two other Storm players. This mitigating factor was taken into account when assessing the final grading.”

NRL head of football Graham Annesley conceded on Monday in his weekly media briefing that Asofa-Solomona should have been given 10 minutes in the bin and the match reviewers erred by handing him the lowest grading.

Anyone seen the horse? Check the gate. Has it been bolted? Too late. The horse has bolted.

Annesley said the match review committee had followed the correct procedures but he didn’t think “they have placed enough emphasis on the degree of force”.

“We disagree with them on this account,” he said while adding “the referee should have put Nelson in the sin bin”.

In its official announcement about the overhaul hours before Round 1 kicked off, titled “NRL confirm enhancements to judiciary and MRC”, it said the match review committee would “remain independent” but also added the NRL CEO and ARL Commission would now have the ability to refer matters for the MRC to review an incident if they had not been picked up in the initial part of the process.

Perhaps a better failsafe measure would be to have the ability to overrule a terrible decision like the grading for the Asofa-Solomona shot. 

If his recent judiciary history is anything to go by, it won’t be long before they get a chance to punish him more severely next time around.

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