Phoenix Crossland has been banned for four matches by the NRL judiciary for the hip-drop tackle that broke Nathan Cleary’s leg, ruling the Newcastle hooker out of Sunday’s grand final against the Sydney Roosters.
Crossland pleaded guilty to the dangerous contact charge on Tuesday before fronting the judiciary to learn his penalty, ABC News reported. The panel of Ryan James and Paul Simpkins took 17 minutes to reach a unanimous verdict after an 80-minute hearing, according to 7NEWS.
The Knights No.9 was sent off in the 36th minute of Newcastle’s preliminary final win over Penrith, with Cleary suffering a compound fracture and a dislocated ankle, as covered in TSB’s match report. The match review committee had referred the tackle straight to the judiciary, which TSB explained in what was at stake at the hearing.
How the panel landed on four matches
NRL counsel Patrick Knowles SC pushed for a four-game ban after describing a “textbook example of a hip-drop tackle” that featured grip, swivel and drop, NRL.com reported. Fox Sports reported Knowles said the tackle brought about a “high degree of carelessness, was not deliberate and did not intentionally cause injury.”
Crossland’s barrister James McLeod argued for two to three matches, focusing on the speed of the incident, the hooker’s remorse and his good character, according to NRL.com. Newcastle great Mark Hughes and premiership-winning coach Michael Hagan provided character references. McLeod also pointed to the four-match ban handed to Dragons forward Ryan Couchman earlier this season, Fox Sports reported. The panel settled on the four matches the NRL had sought.
“It’s been the worst couple of days of my life”
Crossland told the hearing he had spoken to Cleary and to Penrith coach Ivan Cleary to apologise.
“I called him yesterday. It was obviously a tough phone call,” Crossland said, according to ABC. “I reached out to his dad [Panthers coach Ivan Cleary] as well.
“Nathan was great, he said not to worry about and he understood it was an accident.
“He was such a gentleman … he told me to stop saying sorry.”
Crossland described Cleary as “my favourite player in the game by a mile” and told the panel the fallout had been a low point in his life.
“It’s been the worst couple of days of my life,” he said, according to ABC. “It’s meant to be the best week of my life and it’s been far from it.”
He also insisted he had not meant to injure anyone. “It happened so fast,” Crossland told the panel, according to 7NEWS. He later added: “I was trying to stop a try. In my position, it’s my job to stop tries. That’s all I was trying to do. I wasn’t trying to hurt anyone.”
Cleary had already publicly backed Crossland from hospital, calling the tackle a “complete accident” and urging fans to stop abusing the Knights hooker, as TSB reported.
World Cup impact for New Zealand
ABC reported the ban would also rule Crossland out of New Zealand’s three World Cup pool games. 7NEWS said those games are against Australia, the Cook Islands and Fiji, meaning the Kiwis would need to reach the semi-finals for him to feature.
That depends on paperwork. The Sydney Morning Herald reported the suspension will be completed during the World Cup pool stage if New Zealand notifies the International Rugby League that Crossland would have been selected. Cleary has already been ruled out of Australia’s World Cup campaign, TSB reported.
Who replaces Crossland in the grand final
NRL.com said Harrison Graham is the man most likely to start at hooker, having filled the role in Round 26 when Crossland was out with a knee injury. Fox Sports reported Graham is expected to make just his third start of the season.
One of Diesel Hagan, Kyle McCarthy or Elijah Salesa Leaumoana will be added to Newcastle’s six-man bench, according to NRL.com. ABC noted the verdict opens the door for 19-year-old Hagan to make his NRL debut in a grand final, something that has not happened since Eddie Lockhart did it for Balmain in 1936.
What happens next
Newcastle meet the Roosters at Accor Stadium on Sunday, with kick-off at 7:30pm AEST, live on Nine. The match is already sold out, as TSB reported. Final line-ups will be confirmed closer to kick-off.
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