King hit floors Tiger
July 18, 2004
Wests Tigers 32 Melbourne 18
MELBOURNE hard man Danny Williams faces the prospect of a record NRL suspension after being sent off for one of the worst incidents seen in the game for many years as his side crashed against Wests Tigers last night.
Rookie referee Gavin Badger sent Williams for an early shower after he king-hit Tigers forward Mark O'Neill. Badger simply said: "Danny, you've taken matters into your own hands. For that, you're off."
A distressed O'Neill, playing his 100th game for the joint-venture club, had to be placed on oxygen after being taken from the field in a dazed state by worried medical staff.
The incident almost certainly cost the Storm victory, with Melbourne centre Ben MacDougall crossing for a try as Williams hit O'Neill, only to have it disallowed.
Ironically, O'Neill was also placed on report, with a high shot on Williams seconds before the send-off leading to the flare-up.
Williams got to his feet and played the ball before chasing O'Neill and flooring him.
After the match, a contrite Williams said he had no recollection of the incident.
"He (O'Neill) hit me and I don't really remember anything after that," Williams said.
"The boys tell me that I hit him and I am sorry for that but I was dazed and didn't know what I was doing."
Ironically, O'Neill also had no memory of the hit.
"My jaw and cheekbone are sore but I really don't know what caused it," O'Neill said.
"I was very distressed for a while there but after a shower and a rest my head has cleared and I'm feeling a lot better."
Storm coach Craig Bellamy believed that Williams' toughness led to his demise.
"Danny is an old style player and I would say 95 per cent of modern day players would have stayed down after being hit and copped a penalty," Bellamy said.
"But he chose to go on with the game and I can in no way approve of what he did. It was stupid and it cost us the match and he knows it."
Tigers coach Tim Sheens was furious over the incident.
"I don't want to say a lot other than it is the sort of thing you would have seen 20 or 30 years ago," Sheens said.
"We were planning a big celebration for Mark's 100th game back at the club but that has now been put on hold."
The incident took much of the attention off a gutsy return to form by the Tigers after four consecutive losses.
Their finals hopes all but gone, the Tigers had nothing to play for in front of a paltry home crowd of 5000 in icy conditions at Leichhardt.
But the Tigers came ready to play and always looked the better side, putting Melbourne out of the top four in a crucial result.
"It has been a tough month for the boys and it was great to see them come out and play with such commitment," Sheens said.
"Even though we have been losing in difficult circumstances, the players have stuck together and I think you could see that tonight."
Bellamy was critical of Badger's performance.
"We weren't allowed to play our best football tonight," an angry Bellamy said. "There were several occasions when we could hear the referee telling their players to get away from the man with the ball because they were offside, yet we never got a penalty.
"Every time the same thing happened to us, they received the penalty."
Rival fullbacks Billy Slater (Melbourne) and Brett Hodgson played starring roles in an entertaining clash.
Each finished the match with two tries, with Slater underlining his enormous talents with several dangerous runs.
On a black night for the Storm, assistant coach Dean Lance was also placed on report for showing dissent on the sidelines.
Lance is believed to have broken a chair after being enraged by several of Badger's decisions.
A highlight of the match for the Tigers was an 80-metre intercept try by centre John Wilson just after halftime.
Wilson's try gave the Tigers a 20-12 lead and provided them with the confidence to go on and secure a much-needed win.
