Storm forward Nelson Asofa-Solomona is in the firing line yet again for another grubby act which could have caused serious damage to Warriors hooker Wayde Egan in Melbourne’s Friday night 24-12 win in Auckland.
Asofa-Solomona, who was placed on report three times in the previous two games but evaded suspensions to receive fines under the new judiciary system, was placed on report but did not get marched even for a sin bin despite a blatant forearm to the head of Egan in the first half at Mt Smart Stadium.
Fox League analyst Greg Alexander was bemused that the Storm prop escaped with only a penalty for the hit.
“Head contact with force, that’s why players go to the bin,” Greg Alexander said on Fox League.
“If [Jared] Waerea-Hargreaves was charged with grade-one contact [the night before], you know he just had his elbow and pushed down.
“Nelson’s come from a height and come down on the head of Wayde Egan. That’s got to be a grade-three dangerous contact.
“That could have quite easily broken his jaw and I thought he did when he walked off.”
Fellow Fox League commentator Gorden Tallis said NAS knew what he was doing when he launched his elbow into Egan’s head while he was on the ground and was stunned he didn’t at least get sent to the sin bin by referee Peter Gough.
It wasn’t the only unsavoury incident involving a Melbourne player with lock Josh King also put on report in the 20th minute for grappling with the face of Jazz Tevaga in a similar incident to the one which led to Bulldogs forward Corey Waddell getting a five-week ban during the week.
King and Asofa-Solomona face a nervous wait before the match review committee announces its findings on Saturday as both players should face hefty bans for their respective incidents.
Thankfully, Egan – who left the field to have his jaw checked – and Tevaga were not seriously injured and able to play on.
Nelson Asofa-Solomona. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy said he wasn’t sure about the severity of each incident.
“I didn’t watch them closely, I watched one replay of each of them. I didn’t think there was a whole heap in it but that’s someone else’s decision, not mine,” he said.
Warriors interim coach Stacey Jones was disappointed his team was unable to hang with the Storm.
“The game’s about moments. And the moments that mattered, we didn’t quite get. I thought the effort from the boys was outstanding, I thought they dug deep at times,” he said.
“Melbourne were always going to come with aggressiveness in their game. He [Asofa-Solomona] got put on report and the judiciary will look after it. It wasn’t nice, what happened to Wayde because it could have been a lot worse than what it was.”
The match itself followed the script of the Storm ending their four-game losing streak by accounting for the struggling Warriors.
Melbourne centre Justin Olam crashed over in the eighth minute for his eighth try of the season and the visitors should have gone further in front but Grant Anderson bombed a certain try when he fumbled a pass after a Marion Seve break.
The hosts hit back via winger Edward Kosi before Storm hooker Harry Grant touched down in the 28th minute to make it 10-4.
Kosi crossed for a second time in the left corner to cut the gap to two points at the break before Storm half Jahrome Hughes made it 16-8 soon after the restart when he dived over.
A Nick Meaney try in the 53rd minute stretched Melbourne’s lead to 14 but the fullback, in the role after Ryan Papenhuyen’s fractured kneecap, was forced off midway through the second stanza with a shoulder injury.
“It’d be a cruel blow to lose Nick, he’s been one of our best this year. Just how bad it is, I’m not sure,” said Bellamy.
Kosi slid over for his treble with 15 minutes left to reduce the Storm’s lead to 22-12 and give the Warriors a sniff of victory.
A penalty goal made it a 12-point buffer to the Storm heading into the final 10 minutes as they went on to record their lucky 13th straight win over the Warriors.
Rossi
Roar Rookie
What will happen is they'll announce a crackdown on these elbows, and a Tigers/Warriors/Dragons player etc. will make some inadvertent light contact and get 4 weeks, crackdown will end and JWH and NAS will continue on their merry ways
Rossi
Roar Rookie
NAS is a massive thug, he's always looking to hurt players and not in a Johnny Raper, Trevor Gilmeister sense but with illegal and cheap shots. He's just as bad as JWH, and in fact even more dangerous due to his size
Rossi
Roar Rookie
Like the analogy! Also if players are just fined the coach won't pull them into line; however if they are suspended the coach will be mad as he's down a player for x amount of games
Rossi
Roar Rookie
They'll both escape the cage and attack the smallest bloke they can find
The Barry
Roar Guru
But we’re not talking about a hard tackle that went wrong, we’re talking about NAS dropping the forearm on a player on the ground. Any player could do that, it’s got nothing to do with size…
WA Sharks Fan
Roar Rookie
Source: NRL.COM. Alfred Smalley (Sea Eagles) Grade 2 High Tackle – Careless TBC 1-2 matches Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (Roosters) Grade 1 Dangerous Contact TBC $3000 fine – 2 matches Egan Butcher (Roosters) Grade 2 High Tackle – Careless TBC 1-2 matches Nathan Cleary (Panthers) Grade 3 Dangerous Throw TBC 5-6 weeks Jackson Frei (Warriors) Grade 1 Dangerous Contact TBC $1000 – $1500 fine No charge on NAS??? I mentioned this before the start of the season! The MRC is becoming a joke and way to inconsistent. Players are getting away with dirty shots with little to effectively no punishment. JWH can get away with a “relatively” small change fine (based on what he earns) with an early guilty plea. They didn’t even see cause for NAS to have a case to answer for with his deliberate, dangerous and forceful elbow drop on Egan??? I really hope some journo airs this at Annesley’s Monday conference. Whilst I know he doesn’t have any jurisdiction over the MRC, the “noise” should at least flag it with the NRL. The MRC is NOT doing a great job and it’s turning fans off. Let’s not even mention his record this season……. Nelson Asofa-Solomona (Round 3 — Careless High Tackle, $1000 fine) Nelson Asofa-Solomona (Round 18 — Careless High Tackle, $1800 fine) Nelson Asofa-Solomona (Round 19 — Careless High Tackle, $3000 fine) Nelson Asofa-Solomona (Round 19 — Dangerous Tackle, $3000 fine)
Dionysus
Guest
"Seriously, if you are a parent with young kids why the hell would you let them play Rugby League after seeing decisions like this?" $$$$$$$$$
Dionysus
Guest
Really, "but I never thought I would get hurt when I signed that million dollar contract your honour, I thought all that extra money was being paid because I am such a nice guy" A bit like a soldier being surprised at being shot at!
Dionysus
Guest
That is not what I am saying. I am saying that it must be harder for a big man like NAS to tread that fine line between a shot that is just tough enough and one that is over the top. A little guy like say Paps is never going to get pinged for anything like that because it would be like swatting away a fly, very different to swatting away an elephant. and I do not believe NAS is a thug. Compare him to say Paul Gallen and you will see the difference. Now there was a thug.
steve
Guest
JWH gets off with a fine and NAS not even charged. Seriously, if you are a parent with young kids why the hell would you let them play Rugby League after seeing decisions like this? Both players are grubs and have been for some time, yet they continually get off with slaps on the wrist time after time. Their actions are even applauded by some commentators in the media. Just a matter of time before a player cops a broken jaw from something like this and the NRL will open themselves up for some serious litigation.
RLFan
Roar Rookie
Surely someone in NRL administration has enough brainpower to see that they are actually weakening their product. So many of us are p.....d off with some players being given special treatment after all the talk and posturing about player safety etc. Surely that means the safety of all who play the game, especially young kids playing their first game. Thugs should not be tolerated and blatant favouritism for players in certain teams is a real turnoff. Something they need to remember is that they need all the teams and their supporter bases to keep selling their product.
Mungo69
Roar Rookie
And all the while the class action lawyers are biding their time until they litigate the game out of existence.
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
' for a large man like NAS that line must seem very blurred indeed'. so a large man gets the benefit of the doubt while a small man must toe the line ! Seriously , think before you post. NAS is a thug.
Red Rob
Roar Rookie
Good morning John. Yes, lack of consistent enforcement itself encourages (or fails to discourage) loose behaviour. I'll confess I often speed when I drive around town (not excessively, but it happens), because I know I'll rarely get caught. But put me on a highway with cameras and I reach for cruise control.
Red Rob
Roar Rookie
No idea mate. I assume the player. Hopefully the NRL has a protocol about clubs not paying it for players, it would be a rort of the salary cap, arguably.
the outsider
Roar Rookie
Who actually pays the fine? I assume clubs do in some if not all instances dunno if this is true. Fines are an embarrassing farce. The punishment must have an impact on the game or competition otherwise its irrelevant
JOHN ALLAN
Guest
Even as a Roosters fan, I cannot condone JWH’s on field behaviour at times however the issue here is consistency. The “Magic Round Crackdown” which lasted one round was followed up by the NRL stating that high tackles & grubby acts would be punished heavily as they had a duty of care to the players especially with the issue of concussion. Since then, it’s been a lucky dip I.e. a warning, on report, sin bin, send off & perhaps a judiciary appearance where their legal representative will endeavour to have the charge either wiped or at least downgraded. Then the lucky dip starts over again. Lack of consistency is mystifying.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Come on… there’s being wound up in defence and there’s dropping a forearm into the jaw of an opponent on the ground. The line there has never been blurred… except for players like NAS…
kk
Roar Pro
Back slamming tackles can produce a whiplash effect to any part of the skull and neck favoured by the brutality bashing bully boys without serious consequence to tenure. They can be just as dangerous as pile driving spear tackles. Please explain to GA.
Red Rob
Roar Rookie
The fines are evidently a completely ineffective deterrent. Seems to be so, unless the fine is very large, and even then it's effectiveness is uneven. $10,000 means a lot more to a player on $200k than it does to someone on $1m. And when it is a substantial fine, you're punishing the player's financial dependents, too. Suspensions, weighted for previous form, would have to be more effective.