Questions have been posed over the NRL’s decision to downgrade Sharks halfback Nicho Hynes to a grade one dangerous contact charge because of a rival player’s medical report.
Hynes was originally issued with a grade two dangerous contact charge for a hip drop tackle on Bulldogs winger Marcelo Montoya in the Sharks’ 24-6 win on Saturday night at Accor Stadium.
Hynes would have missed the Sharks’ elimination final against the Roosters this Saturday night if he had taken the early guilty plea on the grade two charge.
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But now that the charge has been downgraded to a grade one, Hynes is free to take on the Roosters at Sharks Stadium.
Initially it appeared as though Montoya had suffered a serious ankle injury as a result of the tackle but the Bulldogs sent a medical report to the NRL which indicated that Montoya’s injury is now not as serious as originally feared.
The findings in the medical report led to the Match Review Committee’s decision to downgrade Hynes’ charge.
NRL 360 host Braith Anasta asked the panel for their thoughts on the matter.
“Do we think though that this is a bit odd, the process?” Anasta asked.
“It’s odd because it’s never happened before,” Brent Read responded.
“This is the first time this has happened in the history of rugby league, that the match review committee has made a change like this.”
But Phil Rothfield disagreed with Read, pointing out that Bulldogs captain Stephen Crichton was eventually charged over an incident involving Storm fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen in Round 25, after Crichton wasn’t originally on the charge sheet.
“It’s not. It happened two weeks ago with Stephen Crichton,” Rothfield said.
“It’s the same thing. They altered the charge sheet.”
But Read pointed out the difference between the two cases.
“Buzz, it was a different rule,” Read said.
“In that case the commission came over the top. In this case the commission wasn’t involved.
“Evidence was supplied by a doctor of a club to change the grading, so it was different.
“People have said it’s the Peter V’Landys rule that was used.
“It wasn’t. It’s a completely different rule that was used in this case.
“I would say what happened a couple of weeks ago as well, that sort of adds to the surprise that this has happened, two big decisions like this have happened within two or three weeks of each other and I think everyone goes, well, what the heck’s going on here?”
“I think the issue here is you’re going to have situations where players are going to get charged for things like this that lead to injury and in some cases you don’t get the report until after the hearing’s been done.
“You don’t get an outcome on what the injury’s like until after the hearing’s taken place.”
Co-host Gorden Tallis believes incidents should be assessed on the action itself, not the injury that occurs as a result of it.
“Could clubs fake that the injuries are worse?” Tallis asked.
“I think it should have still run its process.
“Go there, he gets off.
“As a hip drop, I didn’t think it was a hip drop.
“So I think we’ve got to keep on judging it on its actions, not on the injury.”
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Anasta even wondered if the Bulldogs helped Hynes escape suspension because they’d prefer not to play the Roosters later in the finals series.
“Let’s put the tin foil hats on,” Anasta said.
“Were Dogs happy to see Hynes play and rub out the Roosters?
“Do they fear the Roosters more than the Sharks?”
Rothfield dismissed the suggestion.
“I honestly think that’s nonsense,” Rothfield said.
“Why wouldn’t they want Cronulla out? Cronulla had just flogged them 24-6 the previous night.”
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