Gallen Let off After NRL Judiciary Farce

Cronulla Sharks lock Paul Gallen has escaped his one match ban after successfully pleading not guilty for a grade 1 careless high tackle.

Gallen was charged after he clearly hit Craig Wing high with a stiff, swinging arm last Friday night. The tackle forced Wing off the field where he spent half an hour recovering from a dizzy state before retaking the field. The incident did not even get penalised during the game, a ridiculous miss by two referees who have lately been intent on finding anything to penalise. The high shot was referred to the judiciary after the game.

After the Sharks learnt that Gallen faced a one match suspension, and that if they fought the charge and lost that there would be no further penalty, they of course decided to plead not guilty. Most logical people thought this decision pointless as they saw the tackle as a more than legitimate offense to be charged and in fact didn’t worry to much about just presuming that Gallen would be suspended. But they let him off.

Reportedly Ricky Stuart delivered a passionate plea to the judiciary which was aided by him giving a physical demonstration of the tackle on Gallen himself. He explained how his arm bounced off his chest, and contact with the head was unavoidable. What a load of rubbish, look at the image below and tell yourself honestly that there wasn’t large contact with Wings chin. What are the judiciary doing, watching Ricky or watching the tape?

Ricky also stated “He did not react as though ‘I’m stuffed here’… There was no reaction”. OK Ricky, so if Gallen went onto the field with a knife and lopped somebodies leg off and then looked one hundred percent innocent afterwards, he should be let off right? He couldn’t have done it.

The Sharks skipper is a common face around the judiciary and is well known as an aggressive and particular dirty player, particularly after it was revealed a while ago that he ripped out the stitches from beneath an opposing players bandage during a tackle. Now they have let him off for a blatant high tackle, what is this showing to him and other players? This is not going to help Gallen clean up these blemishes in his game.

Last Sunday on the Footy Show, Mark Geyer remarked that the incident had only been sighted because of his reputation. Wrong. Incidents like this build his reputation.

Players have conducted tackles much more harmless than this in the past and have been suspended for it. Perhaps the panel just felt sorry for the hapless Sharks or perhaps they pitied Ricky after he was blasted by Phil Gould in the paper. Whatever the reason, they have gone mad.

The boys over at the judiciary have set a new precedent: its open slather on high tackles this week in the NRL! Go get ’em fellas!