Headbutt lands Aiton on striking charge
Chris Barrett
March 15, 2011
http://www.theage.com.au/rugby-leagu...314-1bujt.html
Cronulla's Paul Aiton. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
CRONULLA hooker Paul Aiton will not be able to use the defence that allowed Jarryd Hayne to last year escape suspension for a headbutt after the judiciary directions were amended because of the Parramatta fullback's surprise exoneration.
Aiton, 25, was one of six players charged yesterday by the NRL match-review committee following the first weekend of the season. The Sharks were last night yet to decide whether to fight a grade-two striking charge - resulting from Aiton's headbutt on Canberra centre Joel Thompson on Sunday, for which he was sent off.
Aiton's clean record means he would face only a one-match ban with an early guilty plea and miss the Sharks' derby against St George Illawarra at Toyota Stadium next Monday. If the club chooses to contest the charge at the judiciary and loses he would be suspended for two games. They would also not be able to use the case of Hayne as a precedent. The star Eel's lawyer, Geoff Bellew SC, last June had Hayne cleared to play for NSW in the second match of the State of Origin series despite video footage showing he headbutted Melbourne fullback Billy Slater in a club game the previous weekend.
Bellew argued successfully the judiciary had to be convinced that Hayne, charged with a grade-one offence, intended to cause Slater significant pain or injury. The panel agreed with Bellew, through its verdict, that the contact to Slater's head was not of an excessive nature.
Because of the Hayne case, the judiciary directions were reworded by Martin Burns SC, who penned the code of conduct when the NRL competition began in 1998. The amended advice to panel members is that a player charged with headbutting need only be shown to have caused discomfort to be found guilty.
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