It seems that no matter what happens the NRL Judiciary will make decisions that make headlines and never for the right reason. Whenever Origin is around there will always be conspiracy theories and thanks to this weekend they will keep circulating. After the Tamou dangerously took out Benji Marshall after he kicked the ball in what the way NRL is trying to stamp out, all the talk immediately was doubting his ability to be available for game 2 of Origin. There was no surprise though when it was announced that Tamou would not be charge with dangerous contact. Looks like they found a nice little loophole by stating e didn't leave the ground, which is funny, I have seen plenty of dangerous tackles where the feet are firmly planted on the ground. Whilst this decision doesn't concern me too much it is the other major judiciary case that has many fans seething. I am referring to Steve Matai, the serial offender who was reported for a swinging arm and given a grade 4 charge. Due to his loading he will face 3 weeks but an early plea will reduce it to 2. What I cannot understand i how a player who is constantly being reported and charge never seems to get a lengthy sentence. The other dumbfounding thing with the judiciary is when they explain that a grade four penalty would only be one game if he didn't have loading from 2 previous incidents. Surely a grade 4 offence on it's own should bring a 2 week ban which should be doubled for each prior offence. Ask any one who watches NRL that doesn't support Manly and you will get a resounding opinion that Matai is one of the dirtiest players in the game, yet he very rarely gets given long stints on the sideline. With the Independent Commission it was seen that things would improve in many areas of the game including the Judiciary but it seems that the standard of officiating on the field and off it is only getting worse and long gone are the days when players would be told enough is enough, go and have a nice long holiday.
The other interesting debate that has been raised by Gorden Tallis is one I agree with wholeheartedly. If a player is released from a contract by a club then that player should not be available to another club until the next season. When is a player going to understand discipline if they know that another club will sign them regardless of what they have done. Yet if a player was stood down by a club, not released and not granted a game for the rest of the season, you can just imagine the uproar by the player and the Players Association. The NRL has a great opportunity to lay down a hard line here, but I doubt that anything will change on this front.
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