Parramatta Eels to fight Nathan Brown’s latest suspension at NRL judiciary
Paul Crawley, The Daily Telegraph
June 21, 2020 4:49pm
Subscriber only
A seething Parramatta are ready to fight to have Nathan Brown cleared of a grade two careless high tackle at the NRL judiciary in a bid to have their star forward free to play Canberra on Saturday night.
The Daily Telegraph has learned that there is a feeling within the Eels camp that Brown’s tackle on Victory Radley in the 24-10 loss to the Sydney Roosters was not worthy of a suspension and that Brown is being punished for his previous bad boy image.
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Nathan Brown is facing two weeks on the sidelines for this high shot on Victor Radley.
Fox Sports expert Michael Ennis was also quick to jump to Brown’s defence on Saturday night when he said it was ludicrous to think the lock would be hit with anything tougher than a monetary fine for the tackle.
Ennis pointed out that Radley was falling in the tackle after being hit low by Reagan Campbell-Gillard.
It was clear Campbell-Gillard’s tackle was what initially forced Radley to drop the ball.
It also shows that while the contact was high, Brown’s arm does not connect with a traditional swinging arm action.
Victor Radley of the Roosters squares up with Nathan Brown of the Eels after Brown’s high shot. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images
Brown’s arm also appears to bounce back at the moment of impact and does not carry through with the force you might expect if it was an intentional action.
But the NRL’s match review committee certainly didn’t agree, with Brown now facing a two week ban regardless of if he cops the early plea or unsuccessfully fights the charge.
Even on the field there was significant confusion with referee Ben Cummins ready to give the penalty to Parramatta after Roosters players came charging in to defend Radley.
It was only after Cummins was tipped to by the bunker that the penalty went to the Roosters, although Cummins still did not place Brown on report.
FOXSPORTS2:36
Roosters outlast Eels
NRL: The Sydney Roosters have ended the Parramatta Eels unbeaten streak by beating them 24-10 in a thrilling and high quality encounter.
But going against Brown is that he does have a history of walking a fine line with his aggression and this charge comes just a fortnight after he returned from a two-match suspension for dangerous contact back in round two.
The Eels will be desperate to have him cleared given his terrific performance against the Roosters where he again showed what an inspiration he is to his team.
Only last week Brown was rated up alongside the other notable contenders for the NSW lock position such as Radley, Cam Murray, Jake Trbojevic and Dale Finucane.
And his one-on-one showdown with Radley certainly justified that argument.
Meanwhile St George Illawarra winger Jordan Pereira is also facing a two-week ban with an early plea for a grade three careless high tackle on Corey Thompson in Saturday’s win over the Gold Coast.
Wests Tigers duo Harry Grant and Sam McIntyre will escape suspension with early guilty pleas for grade one dangerous contact charges stemming from Saturday’s win over North Queensland. Their teammate Josh Aloiai has been fined for contrary conduct.
ARTHUR: WE’LL LEARN FROM OUR MISTAKES
Brad Arthur has backed his playmakers Mitchell Moses and Dylan Brown to bounce back when Parramatta take on grand finalists Canberra on Saturday.
It comes as NSW coach Brad Fittler gave a blunt assessment of where he thinks the Eels need to improve despite a gritty 24-10 loss to the Sydney Roosters.
In a match the great Mal Meninga likened to State of Origin intensity, Fittler highlighted Brown’s attempted tackle on Brett Morris that led to the Roosters’ first try.
Fittler said it showed “Parramatta still has those little periods where they just lose their head”.
“(Brown) had plenty of opportunity to tackle (Morris) so many other ways but he went in for a half-hearted sort of shoulder charge and it was sort of the worst tackle to go in with,” Fittler told Channel 9.
Brett Morris breaks an attempted tackle from Dylan Brown. Picture: AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts
Moses also came up with a costly defensive read when he hung off Luke Keary just long enough to allow the classy Roosters five-eighth to slice through to set up Boyd Cordner’s match-turning try.
That came minutes after Maiko Sivo bulldozed over James Tedesco and Moses’ sideline conversion grabbed Parra a 10-8 lead heading into the final quarter.
The Eels would have practised that defensive play on Keary all week to prepare for his show and go but instead Moses stuck to Cordner and Reed Mahoney was also unable to shut the gate.
Arthur said it was up to the entire team to learn from the experience and the Roosters’ professionalism.
Josh Morris steps through an attempted tackle by Mitchell Moses. Picture: AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts
“The only way we are going to get better is if we make mistakes and we learn from it,” Arthur said.
“Same as me. I have made plenty as a coach but I have to get better too and learn from it.
“We just dropped that professionalism and concentration for a couple of moments and it cost us.”
He said that’s why this Saturday against Canberra can’t come soon enough.
“It is exactly what we need,” Arthur said.
One of the biggest improvements in Moses’ game this year has been his attitude and commitment in defence, while the football Brown is playing for his age is quite extraordinary.
Brown only turned 20 on Sunday and although he probably wouldn’t have felt much like celebrating his improvement this year has been exceptional.
FOXSPORTS3:22
Eels press conference
NRL: Brad Arthur speaks following his sides 24-10 loss to the Roosters in their round 6 clash.
Arthur said he went home after the game and reviewed it several times, and each time it made him realise what a quality game of footy it was.
But while he was proud of the effort it also showed why the Roosters’ remain the benchmark.
“We have to get the big moments right,” he added.
“They are a premiership winning team that have been together for a while and they will make you pay.
“The Roosters have worked hard to get to where they are and we want to get to that level.
“It was frustration (the feeling after the game).
“We knew that we gave it a fair crack but we also knew that if we get a couple of things right out there it could have been a different story.
“But there is more good things to come out of it (than bad).”
