Nelson Asofa-Solomona has joined a lamentable group of players who were banned from grand finals in the NRL era after his four-game ban for a careless high tackle in the Storm’s preliminary final was upheld on Tuesday.
The Storm prop failed in his bid to have a four-game NRL ban overturned, even managing to get the suspension raised to five games in the process.
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While “NAS” now misses the chance to play in the 2024 decider, it was a dice roll the Melbourne Storm had to take; should they have beaten the grade three careless high tackle charge, the club’s starting prop would have been free to play on Sunday.
The failed fight, which was led by Sydney lawyer Nick Ghabar, places Asofa-Solomona into the tiny pack of players who missed grand finals. This is the first time the list has been expanded since 2014, when South Sydney rake Isaac Luke was scratched from the Rabbitohs’ eventual victory for a dangerous throw.
Before that, the high-profile banning of Cameron Smith in 2008 for a grapple throw sent ripples through the NRL. It was only compounded days later when his Storm side were put the sword by the Manly Sea Eagles 40-0 in a revenge match for the year before. Luke Ricketson (striking, missed the 2004 grand final) and Peter Ryan (dangerous contact, 1998) round out the list.
NRL players who missed grand finals for bans
- Nelson Asofa-Solomona (2024) – Careless high tackle
- Isaac Luke (2014) – Dangerous throw
- Cameron Smith (2008) – Grapple tackle
- Luke Ricketson (2004) – Striking
- Peter Ryan (1998) – Dangerous contact
Billy Slater also nearly joined the list as the third Melbourne player in 2018, which would have meant he was denied a farewell match as he retire from rugby league, but Ghabar successfully defended the fullback six years ago. The Storm went on to lose that grand final 21–6 to the Roosters, who then also won a second title the next year.
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Said Asofa-Solomona after the ban: “All my energy’s going to helping my team to get the result.”
