Melbourne Storm officials have written to the NRL seeking clarification on why St George Illawarra forward Jack de Belin and Gold Coast hooker Beau Falloon received lighter punishment than that dished out to their emerging forward Jordan McLean as controversy over lifting tackles continues.
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A day after NRL head of football Todd Greenberg said the competition committee would consider a ban on lifting tackles at the end of the season, Falloon escaped a charge altogether for an ugly tackle on Storm centre Will Chambers, while de Belin was hit with a grade-one dangerous throw charge in relation to a hit that upended South Sydney’s Sam Burgess at the SCG on Saturday night.
Bemused Melbourne officials are seeking answers given a belief that both tackles were of a more serious nature than the one for which McLean copped a seven-match ban at the NRL judiciary last week. The 21-year-old was referred directly to the panel over the tragic three-man tackle that left Newcastle’s Alex McKinnon with spinal damage last month. He had an extra four-match ban applied to take into account the extent of the injury on top of three weeks for a grade-two dangerous throw, a charge that was in an unprecedented episode determined by the three members of the judiciary.
There were concerns when McLean’s punishment was metered out that the scale of the suspension had established a dangerous precedent, and the Storm have been left confused by the more moderate action taken against Falloon and de Belin. Fairfax Media understands that privately some at the club are seething over what they perceive to be double standards but are reticent to inflame the situation given that McKinnon remains in hospital – he was transferred from Melbourne to Sydney on Monday – and Wednesday’s deadline for them to make a decision on whether to appeal McLean’s suspension.
‘‘Melbourne Storm today confirmed the club will be seeking clarification from the NRL regarding this afternoon’s Match Review Committee charges,’’ the Storm said in a statement on Monday afternoon. It is understood the Storm’s gripe in terms of the Chambers tackle is not with the Titans or with Falloon but with the NRL match review committee and how they have adjudicated the respective incidents. Chambers was fortunate to fall on his shoulders rather than land head-first into the AAMI Park turf while a day earlier Burgess also escaped unharmed.
In a further incident in the Souths-Dragons clash, St George Illawarra’s Joel Thompson was also spared a charge despite lifting Greg Inglis into a precarious position that prompted the superstar Rabbitohs fullback to appeal to the touch judge. While the NRL competition committee will consider a ban on lifting tackles at the end of the season, match review chief Michael Buettner said players could only be charged if their head or neck was likely to make contact with the ground. Although Falloon had lifted Chambers, the Storm centre came down on his forearm and shoulder before rolling to the side. ‘‘Under the rules, for a player to be charged with a dangerous throw we have to be satisfied that a player has been lifted into a position where it is likely that the first part of his body that will make contact with the ground will be his head or neck,’’ Buettner said.
‘‘With the Joel Thompson tackle, we did not believe a charge was appropriate as while there is a lifting action Inglis retains one leg on the ground for much of the tackle and he clearly lands on his forearms. He doesn’t reach a dangerous position. With the Beau Falloon tackle, we do not feel he is put in a position where it is likely his head or neck will make first contact with the ground.’’
