Latest news with #ScottSorensen
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Panthers' fifth-straight victory comes at a cost
Izack Tago has become the second Penrith player in a month to be banned for a hip-drop style tackle that was missed by the on-field referee. Tago has been offered a one-game suspension for the shot that injured Kitione Kautoga late in the first half of the Panthers' 32-10 win over Parramatta on Sunday. Eels second-rower Kautoga was unable to finish the game, with coach Jason Ryles indicating he had suffered syndesmosis injury in his left ankle. "He'll probably miss a couple of weeks now. He's in a boot," Ryles said. "We've had a couple of syndesmosis this year so our performance team's had a bit of practice on rehabbing them." Ryles would not be drawn to comment on Tago's tackle, other than to say it was "very" frustrating that referee Peter Gough had not paid the Eels a penalty at the time. Less than a minute after Kautoga limped from the field, the Panthers took the half-time lead through Luke Garner and never trailed again. Tago will miss Friday's match against South Sydney if he pleads guilty to grade-two dangerous contact and would risk also missing the next game against Wests Tigers by challenging the charge. His ban comes after Panthers teammate Scott Sorensen accepted a two-game ban for the hip-drop-style tackle that injured Dallin Watene-Zelezniak's ankle in the round-16 win over the Warriors. On that occasion, Sorensen also went unpenalised on-field, though he was placed on report at half-time. Four-time premiership-winner Sorensen is set to return from suspension and face the Rabbitohs at Accor Stadium, where the Panthers will hunt a sixth consecutive win. The Panthers could keep Paul Alamoti in the backline for that game following a strong performance against the Eels, or may move Garner to the centres in Tago's place.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
NRL boss responds after Ivan Cleary lodges complaint over 'disturbing' change
NRL boss Andrew Abdo has moved to quell concerns over the decision to grant the Australian Rugby League Commission power to charge players after concerns were raised by Ivan Cleary. The Penrith Panthers coach has led the concern over the ARLC granting itself permission to charge players who escape punishment from the match review committee if they deem it necessary. They also have the power to downplay a charge if the original decision is deemed too strict. This led to backlash with Cleary claiming the ARLC's 'disturbing' decision leads him to believe they have no trust in the system. "I would suggest the danger there is that the Commission is not showing a lot of confidence in the MRC," Cleary said after Penrith's win over the Warriors on Saturday. "I don't know if that's the actual reason, but you can assume that, which is a little disturbing. I think that's probably the main issue - do we have confidence in the MRC? And if we don't, then we probably should fix that up, rather than trying to maybe come up with a, 'We'll step in if we don't think it's right'." Cleary used the example of Scott Sorensen's two-game ban as an example from the weekend. Sorensen's hip-drop style tackle on Dallin Watene-Zelezniak was not put on report during the game. However, the MRC deemed Sorrensen will miss two games for the tackle. This frustrated Cleary who felt their were inconsistencies in the game. Cleary wasn't the only one frustrated with the change. Rugby League Players Association boss Clint Newton claimed it was an 'unprecedented over-reach' from the ARLC. And Abdo has responded to the concern from within the community. Speaking on Wednesday, Abdo claimed the new rule was just an insurance policy for the league. "All it really means is that the Commission is able to, on very rare circumstances if ever, apply to the judiciary to review a matter that may have been missed by the match review committee, or may have, in their view, not been graded appropriately," he said. "There could be an upwards movement of the grading, it could be a downwards movement of the grading. This would be in very rare, exceptional circumstances as an insurance policy. It's not a case of us being in a situation where we're going to see this applied regularly, if at all." Abdo claimed he hadn't heard about Cleary's concerns ahead of clarifying what the ARLC's new power involves. But claimed each club will still be able to challenge their ruling and the judiciary will have the final say on all decisions. "The Commission has no powers to make a final decision, those powers will sit with the judiciary," Abdo said. RELATED: Blow for Storm and Queensland as star ruled out of Origin 3 Corey Parker calls for premiership-winning coach to stand down now Speaking ahead of the Bulldogs clash, Cleary hit out at the rules surrounding the hip-drop tackle. "I'm sure you've heard enough coaches post-game confused," Cleary said. "The actual hip-drop rule, I don't even know who wrote it and when it was written; it's very vague and it's nothing like why it was brought in." Considering Sorensen wasn't penalised, Cleary felt it was harsh. "I think he was very hard done by," Cleary said of Sorensen. "Scott made a tackle that is, in most people's eyes, a classic rugby league tackle and no one saw it (a hip-drop) - Dallin, not any player on the field, not a referee, not a touch judge, not 18,000 fans. "But someone got hurt, so we had to do a cold case and go back and try and find it. "It's definitely something that needs to be looked at because it's not just us and not just Scott, there's been a few others this year." Speaking on Cleary's example around Sorensen, Abdo admitted it was their job to protect the players. "We'll make no apology for wanting to protect players and we'll also put the onus on the defender to take all measures to avoid those indicators (of a hip-drop)," Abdo said.
News.com.au
24-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘A little disturbing': Ivan Cleary calls for overhaul of hip-drop interpretation, voices concerns over MRC
A decision to give the Australian Rugby League Commission extra powers to charge players if the match review committee misses something shows a 'disturbing' lack of confidence in the system according to Penrith coach Ivan Cleary, who declared it needs to be fixed. The premiership-winning coach also called on changes to be made to the hip-drop rule after Scott Sorensen was suspended for two matches for a tackle that Cleary says resulted in a 'cold case' investigation because someone got hurt. The Rugby League Players Association revealed last week that it had 'serious concerns' with the decision to amend the judiciary code that gives the ARLC 'absolute discretion and extraordinary powers' to charge players. The argument from head office is that it's an extra layer of protection for players, but the RLPA and Cleary aren't on-board with a move that has undermined player trust in the MRC. 'We had a charge on the weekend that I was very disappointed with,' Cleary said. 'So I would suggest that the danger there is that the commission is not showing a lot of confidence in the MRC, I would say. I don't know if that's the actual reason, but you can assume that, which is a little disturbing. 'That's the main issue – do we have confidence in the MRC? And if we don't, we should probably fix that up rather than coming up with a 'we'll step in if we don't think it's right'. 'There's some work to be done.' The commission didn't need to step in on the weekend after the MRC came down hard on Sorensen, who will miss two matches after he was hit with a grade 2 dangerous contact charge for a tackle that injured Dallin Watene-Zelezniak. It's his second ban of the year, but his coach is adamant that it wasn't a hip-drop tackle, with Cleary also confused by a call earlier in the year to suspend Mitch Kenny. Dallin Watene Zelezniak will go for scans on a suspected high ankle sprain (syndesmosis injury) suffered in Round 16. Another typical mechanism - tackler contact causes boot to get stuck in turf & foot to twist out. Considering traumatic contact concern for high grade injury. — NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) June 21, 2025 'I think he was very hard done by,' he said, not wanting to risk fighting the charge in case it resulted in an extra week. 'There has been enough talk about hip drops this year where I think you've heard from coaches post-game who are confused. 'The actual hip-drop rule, I don't even know who wrote it or when it was written. It's very vague and nothing like why it was brought in. 'Scott made a tackle that is in most people's eyes was a classic rugby league tackle. No one saw it, even the player who was tackled didn't think anything of it. 'Not any player on the field, not the referee, the touch judges and not 18,000 fans (thought it was bad), but someone got hurt so we had to do a cold case and go back and try to find it. 'It's definitely something that needs to be looked at because it's not just us and Scott. 'Just because someone gets an ankle injury,doesn't mean somebody needs to be suspended. 'It's unfortunate … but it was an accident.'
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Panthers' watershed win comes at a cost
Penrith's best win of the NRL season has come at a cost with Scott Sorensen handed a two-game suspension for the tackle that injured Warriors winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak. Second-rower Sorensen was not penalised on-field for his hip-drop style shot from the first half of Penrith's 28-18 win in Auckland. The tackle left Watene-Zelezniak with a syndesmosis injury, with the Panthers scoring their second try while the winger was hobbling in backplay and unable to defend in position. Watene-Zelezniak then watched from the dressing sheds as his former side waged a huge upset without their five NSW stars. On Sunday morning, the match review committee handed four-time premiership winner Sorensen a grade-two dangerous contact charge for his tackle. It means Sorensen will sit out of next week's match against ladder leaders Canterbury and the rivalry clash with Parramatta by accepting an early guilty plea. If he unsuccessfully disputes his charge, Sorensen will miss a further match against South Sydney. But a challenge appears unlikely given the 32-year-old has already lost one judiciary hearing this season. Sorensen also received a grade-one careless high tackle charge for a shot on Warriors fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad but can accept a $1800 fine. The defeat of the fourth-placed Warriors was only Sorensen's third match back from a three-game suspension for his shoulder charge on Manly forward Nathan Brown. Sorensen bursts through! 💥 #NRLWarriorsPanthers — NRL (@NRL) June 21, 2025 The veteran's absence is a big blow for the resurgent Panthers, who are keeping pace with the top eight following a dismal start to the season. Sorensen was among their best in Saturday's boilover, scoring two tries including the go-ahead four-pointer in the second half. He also made the try-saving tackle that allowed the Panthers to seal their previous win over Wests Tigers. The Panthers' five State of Origin representatives will return to face the Bulldogs on Thursday night, with Isaiah Papali'i and Luke Garner both options to start in Sorensen's absence.
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
No Origin stars, no worries; Panthers in boilover win
An undermanned Penrith have secured a critical 28-18 victory over the high-flying Warriors despite missing their swag of State of Origin stars. The Panthers arrived in Auckland without five stars including Nathan Cleary and Isaah Yeo due to the travel factor from Origin II in Perth to New Zealand. But the rookie outfit shocked the third-ranked hosts in their Saturday clash to bank a third straight win and continue their climb up the NRL ladder. Depending on results the defending premiers could finish inside the top eight at the end of the round for the first time since Las Vegas in the opening round. Winning seven of their past eight matches, the Warriors were expected to outclass Penrith but the Panthers' young halves Blaize Talagi and Brad Schneider stood up to steer the visitors home. Talagi won't be stopped 🔥 #NRLWarriorsPanthers Telstra Moment of the Match. — NRL (@NRL) June 21, 2025 With Moses Leota leading the way up front with 147 run metres, second rower Scott Sorensen also stood tall, scoring two of their five tries. The Warriors weren't helped by losing Marata Niukore to a head knock 10 minutes into the match and then winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, who appeared to suffer a serious ankle injury. Sorensen went on report for the tackle that ended Watene-Zelezniak's night. Trailing 6-8 at halftime, the Warriors' hopes of a big finish were also hobbled as halfback Luke Metcalf struggled with a quad injury. The Panthers started with a bang with Sorensen held up over the line early but they made no mistake in the 16th minute when centre Casey McLean found winger Tom Jenkins, who bagged a hat-trick last week. In a pulsating contest the Warriors soon levelled with a ball bouncing up for Jackson Ford after Leka Halasima skittled Penrith players leaping for a Metcalf bomb. Sorensen again put his team ahead, scoring his first try with three minutes remaining in the half. The Warriors edged ahead soon after the break through Jacob Laban but the full house at Go Media Stadium had little to cheer about until a 78th minute consolation try by Moala Graham-Taufa. In the meantime, the Panthers piled on a further three tries, with Talagi and winger Paul Alamoti getting in on the action, to seal the win.
