'Shouldn't be able to': Andrew Johns calls for NRL crackdown amid flurry of bans
But it was Lawton's tackle on Siua Wong earlier on Sunday that left league 'Immortal' Johns fuming in commentary for Channel Nine and the Roosters forward facing up to six weeks out with a knee injury. Lawton was hit with a grade 3 dangerous contact charge for the first-half incident that forced Wong from the field after he was held upright by two defenders, before Lawton came in and collected him directly on the knee.
Scans on Monday confirmed a medial ligament tear for the Roosters forward, meaning he's set to spend at least a month on the sidelines. The Cowboys forward was not even penalised for the tackle during the 42-8 loss, despite referee Ashley Klein and bunker officials having time to review the incident. Fortunately for the Roosters, five-eighth Sandon Smith was cleared of a serious knee injury after hobbling off in the second half.
Siua Wong is expected to miss 4-6 weeks after suffering an MCL tear in Round 16 (via @ScottBaileyAAP).Likely moderate grade MCL sprain (partial ligament tear) with that recovery timeframe.In better news for the Roosters - scans have cleared Sandon Smith of any injury. pic.twitter.com/cQcwDiBNOw
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) June 23, 2025
But the tackle on Wong left Johns fuming in commentary, with the league legend insisting the game needs to do more to stamp out third-man-in tackles that put the ball-carrier at risk. "It's dangerous, I hate it," Johns said. "If you have two players in the tackle, and momentum is pretty much (stopped), that third man shouldn't be able to go in like that.
"A couple of years ago we saw Liam Knight get hit from behind and it pretty much destroyed every ligament in his knee. The player cannot see it coming. And what's come into the game is they back into the tackle so they can see the third man coming in and spearing at the knee.
"And what's happened with that happening is we have crushers coming into the game, because of players turning and twisting looking for that third man." Lawton's charge is only the second grade-three for any offence this season, after Dolphins veteran Felise Kaufusi copped the same punishment for dangerous contact on Cowboy Tom Duffy last week.
Only Manly prop Tof Sipley has been given a higher grading this season after being referred straight to the NRL judiciary for a hip-drop tackle that injured St George Illawarra's Mat Feagai in April. Lawton's clean record means he can accept a two-match ban with an early plea or risk a third game on the sidelines if he elects to fight the grading.
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Parramatta have also been dealt a double blow after Sunday night's 36-20 win over the Titans, with Eels hooker Smith and centre Penisini facing multiple games out after copping dangerous throw charges. Penisini's lifting tackle on Beau Fermor was the worst of the two and he's facing a three-week suspension for the 78th minute incident that saw the Gold Coast player land dangerously on his head.
The Eels centre was sin-binned for the tackle and faces an extra week on the sidelines than his Parramatta teammate, due to his prior record. Smith's lifting tackle on Phillip Sami was more innocuous but still ultimately dangerous for the Titans player, with the Eels hooker facing two games out unless he decides to fight the charge.
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