Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo delivered a telling response after a potential hip drop tackle on backrower Jacob Preston went unpenalised a year on from his controversial sin bin.
Preston was left clutching his ankle in the first half after Rabbitohs superstar Jack Wighton dragged him down, clinging onto his back.
The former Raiders five-eighth escaped sanction as it was deemed Wighton did not land on Preston’s legs.
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In the post-match press conference, Cameron Ciraldo was reminded of the furore that was sparked during this same Easter fixture in 2023, with Preston being sent to the bin for a similar tackle.
The NRL world was split on whether Preston’s effort on Rabbitohs flyer Izack Thompson was in fact a hip drop, however he escaped punishment despite being marched off the field.
“Yeah I remember it well, yeah. I remember it,” Ciraldo said.
When asked what he thought of Wighton’s tackle, Ciraldo bit his tongue, but his opinion was clear after he rolled his eyes several times.
“I honestly didn’t see it that closely,” Ciraldo said as he delivered a huge sigh.
“No, I didn’t see it that closely.”
Meanwhile, Dogs forward Kurtis Morrin was sent to the sin bin for an ugly lifting tackle that saw Rabbitohs skipper Cameron Murray land on his shoulder.
Ciraldo was confident referee Gerard Sutton made the right decision, but did suggest an opposition player should have also been marched.
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Fair call or double standards? | 01:30
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“Yeah it was probably fair, Kurtis tackles low and he just didn’t get it quite right there,” Ciraldo said.
“There wasn’t any malice in it, but it is what it is. Probably got what it deserved but might have been nice to get one of them on the other side.”
Yet another contentious point of this clash was Latrell Mitchell colliding with flyer Josh Addo-Carr, knocking the winger out in the process.
The Rabbitohs fullback’s hip collected Addo-Carr’s head, however he escaped sanction despite being already taken into touch on the stroke of halftime.
Addo-Carr is now set to be sidelined for Round 5 and will be stood down for 11 days under the NRL’s concussion protocols.
“I haven’t seen it too closely, but we lost him for the rest of the game, probably lose him for next week now so not ideal,” Ciraldo said.
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