The Daily Telegraph’s Paul Crawley has slammed Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou’s post-match blow up over Taane Milne’s sin bin which sent Bulldogs prop Ryan Sutton to hospital.
Milne was placed on report and fined for a shoulder charge in the 10th minute of South Sydney’s clash against Canterbury-Bankstown on Saturday night.
The tackle off the kick-off was initially just a penalty, but after Sutton spent several minutes on the ground the Bunker reviewed the tackle and referee Liam Kennedy raised ten fingers.
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Demetriou launched a scathing attack on the decision, explaining he believes his team can’t “get a fair crack”.
“We’re just finding things to do. Finding ways to get people who aren’t even on the field to make big decisions,” Demetriou said.
“The live decision was what it was, but for whatever reason we want to look at it again and again and again, slow it down and manufacture an opinion and send a bloke into the sin bin.”
But for Crawley, Demetriou showed no “genuine compassion” and luckily Sutton has since been cleared of any serious neck injury.
“It was a typical rant from a losing coach and I get that he is frustrated, but what I found hard to cop was the fact that you had Ryan Sutton laid on the ground, stretchered off the field with a neck injury,” Crawley said.
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“Who was then carted to hospital and at the post-match press conference, the talk was about why Taane Milne was sin binned and there was no genuine compassion for the injured player.
“Jason’s concerns went from interference in the ruck to that moment, they are completely separate issues.”
League legend Gorden Tallis also explained he believed the tackle was a sin bin and Crawley reflected on one of the most harrowing moments in rugby league history — Alex McKinnon’s neck injury.
“You have got to put yourself in the ball carrier’s body there, you have to expect when you are running you don’t get hit in the head,” Tallis said.
“I think they got the first decision wrong and the second one right, and I think Jason has got a right and I understand his frustration.
“But Milne hits him in the head.”
“In that moment my concern was for Ryan Sutton… and when he was lying on the ground, I will never forget the feeling I had, going back a decade when Alex McKinnon suffered his terrible injury,” Crawley said.
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“And the way Cameron Smith performed, debating who was going to get the penalty or not.
“The other night I thought Jason’s reaction was out of line, I really did.”
But for NRL360 host Braith Anasta they refereeing team made the wrong decision, siding with Demetriou that the Bunker were looking for a penalty to hand down.
“I think they got it wrong, it is barely a shoulder charge… the Bunker are trying to find something here and how the neck injury happened,” Anasta said.
“Tatola comes in and bends his neck… that doesn’t mean Taane Milne should be punished for his shot and sent for 10 in the bin.
“For minimal contact with the head, which I think wasn’t a shoulder charge.”
“If you want to put the blowtorch on someone, put the blowtorch on Taane Milne,” Crawley responded.
“If the Bunker would not have put someone on report and potentially in the sin bin, I’ll tell you now they would have been crucified.”
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