NRL head of football Graham Annesley has defended the match review committee after Cronulla Sharks star William Kennedy accepted a one-match suspension for his grade two contrary conduct charge after colliding with referee Adam Gee.
The fullback starred for the Sharks as they laid on 10 tries in an old-fashioned 58-6 hiding against the struggling Wests Tigers on Friday night.
Kennedy however won’t be available for the club’s round 21 clash against the Cowboys after the bye, with Cronulla officials opting to take an early guilty plea.
The incident occurred when Kennedy was following in support up the middle after Kayal Iro made a break on the left edge in the 13th minute.
The fullback was shaping up as the main support player and in prime position to score a a long-range try when he crashed into Gee, who fell to the ground but quickly.
Play continued without Gee sanctioning the fullback on the field.
Fox Sports commentator and Broncos great Corey Parker, said the moment was completely “accidental”.
Sharks great Paul Gallen described the charge as “absolutely insane” on 2GB while Wade Graham was equally as dumbfounded, calling it “outrageous” on Triple M.
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However, Annesley has responded to the criticism, stating the majority of charges that happen in the NRL are accidental.
“We can’t just say it’s an accident, so therefore it’s OK,” he said on Monday.
“It’s an accident, but it’s not OK.
“Because the implications of saying it is OK aren’t worth thinking about, not in this game or any other NRL game, but across the entire game where we have match officials on the field who have to be there, who are just as important on the field as any of the players. They have to be there.
“We can’t have a situation where we say there is nothing we can do about it, these collisions are going to happen … we’ve seen players when they’re in possession of the ball, they’re pretty light footed. They can step off either foot to get through a gap, why can’t they step off either foot to avoid a collision?”
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