Phoenix Crossland will plead guilty to dangerous contact over the tackle that broke Nathan Cleary’s leg when he fronts the judiciary at 6PM this evening, all but guaranteeing he will miss the 2026 NRL Grand Final on Sunday.
Crossland was sent off for the hip-drop tackle in the 36th minute of Newcastle’s unlikely preliminary final win over Penrith. The match review committee sent him straight to the judiciary with a dangerous contact charge.
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The expectation is Crossland will be banned for at least four games, after Dragons forward Ryan Couchman was suspended for a month in a similar situation earlier this season. His hip drop tackle ended J’Maine Hopgood’s season. Couchman pleaded guilty and was suspended for four games after being sin-binned.
Crossland has since apologised to Cleary, though that won’t impact the ruling. Cleary also demanded fans stop abusing Crossland for the “complete accident” that resulted in his injury. “He doesn’t deserve the unwarranted hate. He reached out to apologise, and I have nothing but respect for him,” Cleary posted on social media.
“He’s a competitor… our game is made up of split-second moments that sometimes lead to unfortunate circumstances,” the Panthers halfback continued. “Comments like [that] are so unfair. Spread love, not hate.”
Cleary has since had emergency surgery on the injury, and will spend the offseason working on recovery.
The seventh-placed Knights now face the Sydney Roosters in the big dance on Sunday evening.
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