Brandon Smith injured again as commentator tears hip-drop to shreds
The 29-year-old had spent the last 10 months on the sideline recovering from a horror knee injury sustained for the Roosters in round 26 last season.
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The New Zealander joined the Rabbitohs in May and continued his rehabilitation, finally making his first run out for the club against Manly on Sunday.
But after a 40-minute performance over two stints on the field, Smith was left limping up the tunnel with a suspected medial ligament injury following a tackle from Sea Eagles prop Matt Lodge that many viewed as a dreaded hip-drop.
Watch the tackle in the video player above
Smith started the match and got through an opening 20-minute run and then returned in the 58th minute.
With just over five minutes remaining in a game the Bunnies lost 30-12 at 4 Pines Park, Smith made a run for the tryline a few metres out when he was tackled by Lodge.
He reached for his leg right after the tackle and the Fox League commentary team were immediately fearing the worst.
'He's clutching at his leg. You don't want to see that, first game back from an ACL reconstruction,' Warren Smith said.
'He couldn't stay on his feet playing the ball and he's still on the ground here. Oh no.
'Let's hope, if anything's been tweaked there, it's a medial ligament potentially. You couldn't believe first game back he'd be in this situation.'
After watching a replay, Smith and Steve 'Blocker' Roach immediately labelled it a hip-drop from Lodge.
Smith said: 'That's a hip drop tackle.'
Roach added: 'That's a hip drop for sure, 100 per cent.'
Smith then launched a stinging tirade on the technique, calling for significant punishments in an effort to stamp it out of the game.
'He had contact with him, came from one side of the tackle to use the hip or the body on the other side to make contact with Brandon Smith,' he said.
'It's a play we haven't rubbed out of the game and the suspensions need to be six weeks, eight weeks, 10 weeks to get rid of it.
'That technique didn't need to happen right there to effect the tackle. Who knows how serious the consequences might be for Brandon Smith?'
The hooker injured both his anterior cruciate and medial ligaments against the Raiders last year, forcing him to have that long break from the game.
A frustrated Bennett was asked about Smith in his post-match press conference and said it's likely he's done a medial this time around.
'He's done a medial ligament. He'll be 6-8 weeks from that tackle,' he said.
'That's up to them to make a decision on that (tackle) now, but we're not playing with a lot of luck and we didn't get any there with that decision either.'
The tackle wasn't penalised on the field or by the Bunker during the game.
Fans were left feeling for Smith, who goes by the nickname 'Cheese', while some were furious about Lodge's tackle.
Roosters fan Gemma Rogers tweeted: 'Bunker cleared that tackle. Will be interesting to see what the MRC does.'
Another fan wrote on X: 'Ahhh and again. Blatant hip drop. Not penalised … not even on report.'
A third declared: 'That's a filthy hip drop.'
Rogers also wrote: 'Oh no. Not cheese.'
Dragons fan Alexis said: 'My heart breaks for cheese.'
Another wrote simply: 'Poor cheese.'
A downcast Bunnies fan wrote: 'He looked pretty good for us too, I pray it's just a niggle, I really do.'
It was a tough day for Souths, who trailed 14-0 at halftime and ultimately conceded six tries to three.
While the Sea Eagles climbed back into the top eight on points difference, the injury-hit Rabbitohs are stuck in 16th.
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The Advertiser
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No ban for tackle that sidelined Brandon Smith again
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He's coming to my birthday next week." Speaking before the charge sheet was released, Lodge insisted he felt there was nothing wrong with the tackle. "It wasn't like he was driving his legs and I sat back on the back of his legs," Lodge said. "Wayne's played the game. He probably knows sometimes you fall in those positions. There was no intentional malice." Unsigned by Manly at the end of last year, Lodge had talks with Souths and St George Illawarra fizzle out before the Sea Eagles offered him a NSW Cup deal as a lifeline. The terms of that offer mean Lodge has an option to take up a full-time NRL deal with Manly again next year, elevating him back to the club's top-30 contracts after two seasons of train-and-trial contracts. "I reckon I might have set the record for the most train and trials," Lodge said. "They are tough to play on. You're playing for the love of it. The kids probably eat the contract in three days. That's why I top it off with work a couple of days a week." 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