Friend and Mini sweat on match review

[DIEHARD]

Friend left to sweat as NRL look at alleged headbutt from all angles

NRL match reviewers today will seek additional camera angles of an alleged headbutt by Gold Coast hooker Nathan Friend to determine if he will become the first player charged for the offence under new guidelines put in place after Jarryd Hayne was cleared to play in Origin II.

Friend and his Wests Tigers opposite Robbie Farah will come under scrutiny from the match review committee over the second-half scrum flare-up that got Titans second-rower Mark Minichiello sin-binned for escalating the brawl.

Farah, who pleaded guilty last season to grade-one striking, after a similar exchange with North Queensland hooker Anthony Watts, faces a suspension if he is charged again, as he will have 50 per cent loading added to any penalty imposed due his prior offence.

Advertisement: Story continues belowFriend will also be charged if there is any evidence to support the headbutting allegation made by Farah after he was cautioned by referee Gavin Badger. The match review panel will ask for any extra camera angles of the incident not shown by Channel Nine during Friday night's broadcast from Campbelltown Stadium.

Match officials did not speak with Friend after the incident but told Farah he had been lucky they had seen the action by the Titans hooker that caused the fight and awarded the penalty to the Tigers.

If he is charged, Friend will not be able to rely on the same defence that enabled Hayne to play in Origin II after the interpretation of what should constitute a guilty verdict for headbutting was changed in the wake of the NSW fullback's controversial case.

Hayne's escape sparked allegations of double standards from Queensland officials and supporters after NRL judiciary chairman, Judge Paul Conlon, advised the panel he could be found guilty of headbutting Billy Slater only if they believed he had deliberately done so, and with the intention to injure or cause discomfort.

The panel members also had to be convinced that Hayne's actions had been deliberate or contained a high degree of recklessness.

As a result, the tribunal had little choice but to exonerate Hayne as it was argued that every tackle - legal or illegal - is made with the intention to cause discomfort. However, Conlon's instructions were based on the existing wording under the NRL judiciary code and he has since helped write the new interpretation. It states the offending player must have intended to injure or cause pain, and that deliberate striking is an act considered to be either ''excessive'' or ''unfair''.

Meanwhile, Farah's fate is likely to depend on whether he is found to have packed into the scrum with a loose arm in order to punch Friend, as he and Watts were both accused of doing last season.

Minichiello's role as third man in the fight will also be looked at closely. The match review committee will decide whether his sin-binning was sufficient punishment or if he should be charged.

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/

[DIEHARD]

Swinging hookers escape unscathed

A REPORT from referee Gavin Badger that he saw Nathan Friend punch Robbie Farah but did not witness the alleged headbutt that started the fight between the pair in last Friday night's match at Campbelltown helped saved the rival hookers from a judiciary charge.

The NRL match review committee yesterday studied footage of the second-half scrum eruption in which Farah stood up and started punching wildly at Friend but found no evidence of the headbutt the Wests Tigers captain claimed caused his reaction.

However, Badger had told Farah on the field that he had been ''lucky'' match officials saw what Friend did to start the fight and awarded the penalty against the Titans hooker. Match review chief Greg McCallum yesterday told the Herald Badger had been referring to a punch and it was decided no action should be taken against either Friend or Farah, who was last year charged over a scrum altercation with North Queensland hooker Anthony Watts.

The difference, according to McCallum, was that Farah packed into a scrum against Watts with the clear intent of squaring up.

Cronulla captain Trent Barrett escaped suspension yesterday after being charged with a grade one tripping offence. Despite a 20 per cent loading for a previous offence, Barrett had accumulated insufficient points to trigger a ban.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league