Personally i think Roberts got what he deserved, it was a dumb act...totally unnecessary.
I think the greater crime here is that the NRL dropped the refs. Roberts did deserve to sit out.
The hearing centred on the charge sheet after the NRL match review committee charged Roberts with contrary conduct, because it didn’t believe there was enough force to charge him with kicking.
Roberts’ legal representative Nick Ghabar argued: “The player has not been charged with kicking. If he hasn’t kicked or made forceful contact, what is contrary and what has he done?
“Roberts pushed his left leg and right leg to get away from the grapple. What is contrary to the true spirit of the game about trying to play-the-ball?
“The grappling went on for some time. It was innocuous and incidental contact. How could a push be contrary conduct?
“He did not kick and he did not lash out with his right foot. All he was doing was trying to play-the-ball. There was no deliberate act that was contrary to the spirit of the game. There was no incident report from the referees, no penalty and play went on.”
NRL counsel Peter McGrath described Roberts’ action as a “deliberate act”.
“It’s not a good look, it’s just not part of rugby league. It’s not an accepted part of the vigorous sporting contest,” McGrath said. “It was contrary to the spirit of the game. It doesn’t matter if he was frustrated at the play-the-ball being delayed. That’s no excuse.”
Roberts did not give evidence. Brisbane football manager Scott Czislowski spoke of the verdict.
While the process was farcical, the ends justified the means.
We see a ton of ruck infringements let go, we rarely see a player lash out like Roberts did.
We just have to cop it sweet. Hopefully Opacic is right and the boys can get the job done.
So shoulder charges, tripping etc all look good for the game. Fair enough.No Cookies | The Courier Mail
This is interesting. An excerpt from Dean Ritchie's column. So the precedent now is that anything that's "not a good look" or "just not a part of rugby league" will incur a charge. And they wonder why they are thought of as a joke.
No Cookies | The Courier Mail
This is interesting. An excerpt from Dean Ritchie's column. So the precedent now is that anything that's "not a good look" or "just not a part of rugby league" will incur a charge. And they wonder why they are thought of as a joke.
That has to be the most **** poor explanation I've ever heard.... "not a good look for the game" are they f.cking kidding