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The Sydney Roosters have been dealt a double blow with Victor Radley’s horror judiciary record coming back to haunt him and Brandon Smith ruled for up to eight weeks with a thumb injury.
Radley was on Saturday hit with a minimum three-game ban for headbutting Blake Lawrie in Friday night’s NRL loss to St George Illawarra, after lashing out at the prop in a fight.
The Roosters lock was handed the relatively light charge of a grade-one striking offence for his contact.
Under normal circumstances Radley would have been able to take a $1500 fine and ensure he was free to face Canterbury after next week’s bye.
But the fact Radley has had four previous offences in the past 12 months alone means he is not eligible for that penalty.
Instead, he will only be able to take a three-game ban with an early guilty plea, ruling him out of games against the Bulldogs, Penrith and Newcastle.
If he opts to fight the charge and loses, he will miss a fourth match against Canberra in round 17.
“Have we stopped sin-binning people this week, are we just putting it in the back pocket preparing for I don’t know what?” said Greg Alexander on Fox League commentary.
Radley’s absence would come as a significant blow to the Roosters, who will also be without Smith for six-to-eight weeks after he suffered a thumb fracture.
The hooker will undergo surgery early this week, but is now not expected to return until after the State of Origin period.
The Roosters are traditionally hit hard during that time, with James Tedesco, Angus Crichton and Lindsay Collins set to be in and out of Origin camp over the next two months.
Radley has spoken repeatedly about cleaning up his game and putting an end to stints on the sideline and sin-binnings, but has so far been unable to do so.
His charge comes after Lawrie said he held no ill-will towards Radley for the incident.
Tempers frayed in the first half of the Dragons’ 24-22 win at Jubilee Stadium after Dragons centre Zac Lomax slammed Corey Allan into the ground as he attempted to strip the ball.
Radley rushed in to man-handle Lomax, sparking a melee between the sides.
But Lawrie shrugged the head-butting incident off post-match.
“I love ‘Rads’, he’s the ultimate competitor, absolutely great player. There’s no hard feelings at all from my end,” he said.
“Whatever the match review committee comes up with, it is what it is. I’m staying out of it.”
Roosters coach Trent Robinson claimed not to have seen the incident and was unsure whether Radley would face scrutiny from the match review committee.
Lomax avoided charge on Saturday for his role in the incident while Roosters forwards Nathan Brown and Collins avoided charges for a high shot and dangerous tackle respectively.
Penrith five-eighth Jarome Luai has escaped suspension for his alleged push on touch judge Chris Sutton in his side’s 15-4 win over Brisbane on Thursday night, clearing him to play in Origin 1.
The Match Review Panel charged him with Contrary Conduct, but only at Grade 1, which means an $1800 fine if an early guilty plea is taken and no ban.
The NSW star had alraedy explained his actions, telling media after the game that he had immediately apologised to the offical once he had realised what he had done.
Winger Sunia Turuva had just scored in the corner and Luai, who often celebrates his teammates’ tries in an exuberant fashion, said he was about to congratulate the flying Fijian when he pushed Sutton in the back.
Players are not allowed to touch match officials and over the years some have been charged by the match review committee (MRC) for doing so while others have not, depending on the circumstances.
Vision of the incident on Thursday night at Suncorp Stadium showed Luai reaching out to apologise to Sutton.
“I was just trying to celebrate a try with a bro’ and I didn’t realise it was the touchie until I did it,” Luai told AAP after Thursday’s match.
“I spoke to him straight away and said, ‘I didn’t know it was you’. I wasn’t really looking. My headlights weren’t on. I apologised … and we are sweet.
“I just wanted to make sure he was alright, and then I explained what happened.
“I was just trying to get to (Turuva). I know he scored the try and I was going to try and jump on his back.
“It was my mistake and I obviously apologised after.”
Luai’s explanation lined up with what captain Nathan Cleary said in the post-match press conference.
“Romy (Luai) mentioned it to me straight after the game and he said he didn’t realise it was the touchie … and then apologised straight after,” Cleary said.
Broncos great Sam Thaiday said he had been suspended for a similar incident during his career.
“I got suspended for that,” Thaiday said on Nine.
“Off a scrum, I grabbed the umpire’s shirt trying to explain that he was holding me in the scrum against the Melbourne Storm here, and I got a week’s suspension for that.
“You’re not allowed to touch a referee.”
Maroons legend Paul Vautin added: ”What was he trying to do?” he asked.
“Was he trying to push him out of the way or tap him to talk to him?”
Luai had another strong match, to back up his stellar display in last week’s 48-4 victory over Sydney Roosters, to all but seal his NSW selection.
“It is that time of the year and it is always a privilege to be in the chat about selection,” he said.
“If I do get picked, I will take it with both hands and give it my best shot.”
The combination Luai has with Penrith half Cleary and lock Isaah Yeo is set to be a strength for NSW with all set to be chosen for Origin.
“I’ve played a lot of footy with those boys and I enjoy doing so. They are probably the best players I will ever get to play with,” he said.
The Panthers went top of the table on 16 points with the win, although South Sydney will pass them if they beat Parramatta on Friday night.
With three victories in a row, the defending premiers are now starting to find their groove, with Luai combining nicely with his left edge.
“Our combinations are growing,” he said.
“I have (centre Tyrone) Peachey out there now. Our edge has changed a bit over the course of the year with different back-rowers and different centres but I have bonded with this edge and we are able to feed off each other really well.”
with AAP
© AAP
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