BILLY Slater will tonight attempt to have his ban for kicking Wests Tigers prop John Skandalis cut to four matches, allowing the star Melbourne fullback to play in the opening State of Origin match.
Slater, facing a seven-match suspension that would rule him out of the Queensland side for Origin I on May 24, has pleaded guilty to contrary conduct but will seek to have the charge downgraded from five, the highest, to three when he fronts the NRL judiciary.
It is expected Slater will use the fact that Skandalis was not injured and got to his feet immediately to chase him as grounds for a reduction and a four-match suspension, which would sideline him until the match before the Origin teams are named in round 10.
The incident is the first of its kind in the nine-year history of the NRL, and Slater's case will set a precedent.
If he is found guilty of grade-five contrary conduct, any offence in which a player striking out with his boot causes injury to an opponent would almost certainly be referred directly to the tribunal for a more severe ban.
"We were happy to plead guilty but the process is there to challenge if you believe the penalty is too harsh and we're taking that opportunity up," Storm chief executive Brian Waldron said.
"They were prepared to reduce it to six matches [if Slater had pleaded guilty to a grade-five charge], but we will be attempting to have it downgraded to a grade three, which will mean he only gets four weeks.
"You've got to be realistic. I think he's unfortunately been careless in this case and we're happy to take what I think is a fair number for everyone."
At a press conference in Melbourne yesterday to promote the launch of his appeal to raise money for victims of Cyclone Larry, which hit his home town of Innisfail last month, Slater admitted footage of the incident "didn't look good" and said he regretted his actions.
"All I want to say is that I didn't mean to do what I did. I was trying to get free of the tackle," he said. "I spoke to John Skandalis, I apologised and told him I didn't mean to literally kick him in the head. That's why the Melbourne Storm are behind me.
"We've seen a fair bit of footage of it and I must admit it doesn't look good. When I first came off the field, I thought it was an accident. The video footage doesn't look very good, but we're all fine about it and I still think I didn't mean to do it, so that's what we're going for."
Tigers players had little sympathy for Slater, with his fellow fullback Brett Hodgson insisting the Storm star had to cop the ban - even if it meant missing Origin I.
"It didn't look great," Hodgson said. "It might be out of character, but you've got to suffer the consequences. You've got to live with what you do on the field and off the field as well.
"Unfortunately it was a brain snap for him. I guess he has to live with that. It's never good to miss any Origin, but I'll let the judiciary deal with that."
Meanwhile, Penrith prop Joel Clinton yesterday slammed claims by Simon Woolford that he took a dive after the tackle that resulted in the Raiders hooker facing a two-match suspension unless he succeeds in getting a downgrade at tonight's hearing.
Clinton said Woolford "got what he deserved" after the high shot - the former Canberra captain's eighth judiciary charge in three seasons. The former Test front-rower dismissed Woolford's comments in yesterday's Herald that he milked a penalty, and said he had a bruised right eye to prove it.
"I got a bloody black eye for it," Clinton said. "I couldn't see out of my eye. He's just trying to get his charges dropped. It wasn't a dive or anything like that. He's got a bad record. He shouldn't go around hitting blokes high."
Storm five-eighth Scott Hill yesterday accepted a two-match ban for manhandling referee Jason Robinson in last weekend's 30-28 loss to the Tigers. Hill pleaded guilty to a grade-four contrary conduct charge but received a discount for a seven-year unblemished record.
Tigers forward Anthony Laffranchi was also suspended for two matches for a dangerous throw, while Parramatta forward Chad Robinson received a one-match ban for striking. Eels teammates Paul Stringer, Brett Delaney and Justin Tsoulos and Tigers lock Jamaal Lolesi escaped suspension.
In other news, leading managers George Mimis and Jim Banaghan have been asked to show cause why the NRL player agent accreditation committee shouldn't take action against them over the Warriors salary cap scandal.
The committee can caution them or suspend or revoke their accreditation.
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