The St George Illawarra Dragons have been left frustrated by the timing of the NRL's new judiciary rules, with Tyrell Fuimaono copping a five-week suspension during the pre-season for an ugly hip drop tackle on Haze Dunster.
While the offence charged by the NRL was a Grade 3 dangerous contact charge, it was Fuimaono's awful judiciary history which left him with such a significant length of time on the sidelines.
Loading has long been a talking point amongst NRL fans, but in a new set of rules and guidelines announced by the NRL less than 24 hours before the first game of the season, it was removed.
It means Fuimaono, had he made the tackle during the opening round of the season, would have only been banned for two weeks instead of five.
Fuimaono's was the heaviest suspension of the pre-season, with the second rower joining Josh McGuire in missing the first five games of the year after the veteran forward was suspended at the end of last year.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the Dragons inquired with the NRL after the rules were announced about whether they could be applied to Fuimaono retrospectively, allowing him to come back in Round 3.
The NRL knocked it back flat, insisting that the rules for the trials wouldn't be changed after the fact, while also reminding the Dragons that there were always likely rule changes coming.
The Rugby League Players Association, among others, were left frustrated by how late the judiciary changes were officially announced.
” The NRL … reminding the Dragons that there were always likely rule changes coming.”
I share the frustration of the RLPA and the clubs. Graham Annesley deserves to be charged with bringing the game into disrepute for the cavalier way in which rules have been changed with no notice, and no discussion with stakeholders.
Unfortunately “bringing the game into disrepute” is reserved as a “catch-all” for use by a ruling body against players and club officials, when there is no specific offence with which to charge them. Shame, really.