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Young Roosters, Sharks brawl just days after talk of harsh penalties
Glenn Jackson | June 30, 2009
FOUR Toyota Cup players are facing combined suspensions of 15 matches after an all-in brawl last Saturday - just days after all clubs were warned about their on-field behaviour.
Sharks player Ahmad Ellaz is facing the most serious charge - grade-five contrary conduct - following the brawl during the game with Sydney Roosters, and could be banned for five matches if he chooses to fight it. Teammate John Viiga and Rooster Ryan Williamson were both charged with grade-four offences and are facing bans of between three and four matches.
Another Roosters player, Sam Brunton, will be suspended for just two matches whether he loses at the judiciary or pleads guilty to his grade-two contrary conduct charge.
The under-20s competition was plagued by brawls last season, the worst being an incident in a Brisbane/North Queensland match last July which resulted in eight players being charged, and Roosters player Ulise Fahina being suspended for 25 matches for kicking a rival player in the final round. As a result, Toyota Cup boss Michael Buettner, at the urging of NRL chief executive David Gallop, warned clubs at the beginning of this season that brawls would be harshly dealt with by the match review committee.
Buettner repeated the warning last Tuesday.
Yesterday, Buettner, who sat in on the match-review committee's deliberations about the 55th-minute incident on Saturday night at the SFS, said the actions of the quartet, which came after a minor push and shove, were "inexcusable".
"It's not as if the clubs weren't pre-warned," he said. "None of the clubs should be surprised by the stance taken by the match review committee.
"Whether the message was passed on to them, and they simply forgot about it, I'm not sure, but they'll all have a few weeks on the sidelines to think about what they've done.
"Having viewed the incident myself, it started from nothing. There were two little pushes. If you saw it in a three-year-olds' playground you'd be proud of your kids for sticking up for themselves. I don't have a problem with the match review committee coming down hard on those players."
http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/lhq...ks-in-big-brawl/2009/06/29/1246127468155.html
Glenn Jackson | June 30, 2009
FOUR Toyota Cup players are facing combined suspensions of 15 matches after an all-in brawl last Saturday - just days after all clubs were warned about their on-field behaviour.
Sharks player Ahmad Ellaz is facing the most serious charge - grade-five contrary conduct - following the brawl during the game with Sydney Roosters, and could be banned for five matches if he chooses to fight it. Teammate John Viiga and Rooster Ryan Williamson were both charged with grade-four offences and are facing bans of between three and four matches.
Another Roosters player, Sam Brunton, will be suspended for just two matches whether he loses at the judiciary or pleads guilty to his grade-two contrary conduct charge.
The under-20s competition was plagued by brawls last season, the worst being an incident in a Brisbane/North Queensland match last July which resulted in eight players being charged, and Roosters player Ulise Fahina being suspended for 25 matches for kicking a rival player in the final round. As a result, Toyota Cup boss Michael Buettner, at the urging of NRL chief executive David Gallop, warned clubs at the beginning of this season that brawls would be harshly dealt with by the match review committee.
Buettner repeated the warning last Tuesday.
Yesterday, Buettner, who sat in on the match-review committee's deliberations about the 55th-minute incident on Saturday night at the SFS, said the actions of the quartet, which came after a minor push and shove, were "inexcusable".
"It's not as if the clubs weren't pre-warned," he said. "None of the clubs should be surprised by the stance taken by the match review committee.
"Whether the message was passed on to them, and they simply forgot about it, I'm not sure, but they'll all have a few weeks on the sidelines to think about what they've done.
"Having viewed the incident myself, it started from nothing. There were two little pushes. If you saw it in a three-year-olds' playground you'd be proud of your kids for sticking up for themselves. I don't have a problem with the match review committee coming down hard on those players."
http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/lhq...ks-in-big-brawl/2009/06/29/1246127468155.html
