Latest news with #shouldercharge
News.com.au
11 hours ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Wighton cops four-game ban in a huge blow for the Rabbitohs
Wayne Bennett's hopes of avoiding his first wooden spoon have taken a massive hit with veteran playmaker Jack Wighton slapped with a whopping four-match ban after he was found guilty of a grade two shoulder charge at the NRL judiciary on Tuesday night. The Rabbitohs have lost eight in a row and head into round 22 in last spot behind the Knights and Titans on points differential, but their hopes of causing a gigantic boilover against the Broncos have copped a devastating blow with their five-eighth sidelined. He joins a host of stars who are missing for the club including Cam Murray, Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker. Wighton could have accepted a three-match ban for the grade two charge that saw him sent to the sin bin for a tackle that knocked out Cronulla's Toby Rudolf on Saturday night but rolled the dice after he pleaded not guilty. The panel of Greg McCallum and Bob Lindner listened to the 75-minute hearing and deliberated for just 15 minutes before they unanimously found him guilty. 'It was a fair hearing,' Wighton said afterwards. 'We came here thinking we had a good case. We didn't get the result we wanted. 'I'll turn my attention to preparing my teammates and really helping everyone at my club the best way I can.' It was a reunion of sorts between Wighton and judiciary counsel Patrick Knowles, with the five-eighth asking him 'how many games of rugby league have you played?' during a fiery hearing in 2023 when he was banned for three matches for biting. Wighton didn't give evidence on this occasion, a point not lost on Knowles who suggested he could have explained why there were no other options available to him to make a different type of tackle. However, judiciary chairman Geoff Bellew reminded the panel that Wighton had no obligation to justify. Knowles described the contact as a 'textbook example of a shoulder charge' and that he twisted his body, the right shoulder led the forceful contact and that his left arm raised in a bracing motion but didn't attempt to wrap. 'The amount of force generated in a tackle that used no arms carries a significant risk of injury,' he said. 'The shoulder was the first impact and carried the primary degree of force.' Prominent Sydney lawyer Nick Ghabar represented Wighton and argued it was 'quite wrong' to suggest he propped and drove with the shoulder and that he did his best to avoid a head on collision. Ghabar argued that the right arm wrapped around Rudolf's left arm before contact and that the Cronulla forward generated the force by leading with his head and arms. 'Rudolf stepped 'violently' off his left foot,' he said, arguing that it was inevitable that there'd be a more violent collision if Wighton hadn't dipped his body. 'Wighton drops his body height to avoid the risk of a head clash. He's got a split second decision to make. He's attempting to tackle with his left arm but his right arm doesn't have the ability to swing around the back of Rudolf.' The referee's report from Belinda Sharpe included a quote from Wighton that said 'I couldn't get my arm out', while the medical report said the injury was caused by a 'head clash from opponent'. Ghabar suggested that the first contact was shoulder on shoulder, but that played into the argument it was an actual shoulder charge. Knowles refuted a number of those arguments and pointed out Wighton's right fist was clenched so it couldn't have been a conventional wrapping tackle and that he could've twisted the other way and made a conventional left shoulder tackle. Ghabar sought a downgrade that would have seen Wighton miss two matches, but it was dismissed after Knowles argued the force was moderate, it was careless and the risk of injury was moderate and that the risk came to fruition. Wighton will miss matches against the Broncos, Titans, Eels and Dragons and will return in the final round against the Roosters, with Lewis Dodd likely to start in the halves.
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
NRL Judiciary: Souths to fight Jack Wighton's controversial charge as veteran five-eighth looks to avoid four-match ban
Rabbitohs five-eighth Jack Wighton will front the NRL judiciary on Tuesday night after the club decided to fight a potential three-match ban that will be increase to four games if the panel finds him guilty. Wighton was hit with a grade 2 charge after he was sent to the sin bin for a shoulder charge on Sharks forward Toby Rudolf, who left the field and will miss a match after he failed his head injury assessment. Jack Wighton will contest his charge at the NRL Judiciary on Tuesday night after entering a not guilty plea. READ MORE: — South Sydney Rabbitohs ðŸ�° (@SSFCRABBITOHS) July 28, 2025 The veteran playmaker will challenge the suspension and likely argue that it was merely a head clash, with Souths hoping he can avoid a ban given they are already missing so many injured stars. Latrell Mitchell, Cody Walker, Cameron Murray and Campbell Graham were just some of the big names who missed the Sharks game, with Junior Tatola set for a stint on the sidelines after he dislocated his shoulder in the dying minutes. Five players were charged out of Sunday's fixtures, with Tom Starling, Ethan Strange, Toff Sipley, Siosiua Taukeiaho and Jaeman Salmon all facing fines if they accept the early guilty plea. Jack Wighton has been sent to the sin bin for this shoulder charge. ðŸ'° Watch #NRLSouthsSharks on ch.502 or stream on Kayo: âœ�ï¸� BLOG ðŸ'¢ MATCH CENTRE — Fox League (@FOXNRL) July 26, 2025 Meanwhile, Dragons superstar Teagan Berry is facing a two-match ban after she was hit with a grade 3 dangerous contact charge for sliding in with her knees as Broncos winger Kerri Johnson scored in the corner. The foul play resulted in a potential eight-point try and Berry was sent to the sin bin. It could cost the Dragons dearly, with the NRLW's greatest try-scorer risking three matches if she fights the charge and loses at the judiciary. The Sharks are also set to be without Jaydika Tafua for 2-3 matches after she received a grade 3 charge for dangerous contact while trying to tackle Claudia Nielsen.
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Souths star Jack Wighton cops massive ban after ‘contentious' incident
Souths star Jack Wighton has copped a massive ban from the match review committee for an incident he was sent to the sin bin for during his side's 14-12 loss to Cronulla. Wighton learned his fate on Sunday, receiving a three-match ban with an early plea. If Wighton fights the charge and loses, he'll miss four games. The ban was so substantial as it was Wighton's second shoulder charge offence. Wighton levelled Sharks prop Toby Rudolf, who came off worse for wear after an accidental head clash. Rudolf was clearly groggy and had to be helped off the field. Wighton was then called over by referee Belinda Sharpe, who gave the Souths star his marching orders. You can watch the incident in the player above. 'Contact is head on head but it's a shoulder charge with no attempt to wrap (your arms), you're in the bin,' Sharpe said to Wighton. 'Oh no, it's over for Wighton for 10 minutes,' Dan Ginnane said on Fox League in response. 'So acknowledgment for head on head contact but a shoulder charge nonetheless.' Ginnane and co-commentator Kevin Walters both disagreed with the decision to sin bin Wighton. 'That's interesting … That's contentious. Is the referee is blaming the head on head contact for the injury,' Ginnane said. 'Did it look like a shoulder charge Kev?' 'No. I don't think that's a shoulder charge, the inside arm is wrapping. I think it's more the fact that Rudolf got KO'd,' Walters replied. Ginnane then labelled it a 'reaction sin bin'.
Daily Mail
12-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Father of NRL stars Nat and Egan Butcher relives the moment he flattened an armed man who was on the run after escaping jail
The fearless father of NRL stars Nat and Egan Butcher has recalled the moment he used a shoulder charge in a bid to detain a man on the run from Sydney's Long Bay Jail. Blake Butcher was in Malabar chatting with a relative on August 13, 2023, when he crossed paths with Jason Melbon, who was armed with a knife. Melbon - who only had 18 months left to serve of a nine-year prison sentence at the time - had earlier jumped the Long Bay fence before going on a rampage in Sydney's east. Despite breaking his ankle once fleeing the correctional facility, Melbon, 43, broke into numerous homes starting at Little Bay, stole a car and tied up another terrified mother in her house. He then ran into Butcher on the street, who didn't hesitate to use the move that's now banned in the NRL. 'I knocked him to the ground,' Butcher - a former first grader player himself with the Rabbitohs - told News Corp. '(He) looked straight at me. 'He (then) ran off around the corner and broke into another person's house. 'We followed him in my car... I spotted him taking off in another car. I got the number plate and we called the police. 'He was caught shortly after.' Melbon, 43, is due to appear in court on June 20 after pleading guilty to a number of offences, including attempting to escape from lawful custody at Sydney's Downing Centre Court on May 22. The charges include two counts of aggravated break and enter and committing a serious indictable offence, taking and driving a conveyance without the owner's consent and two counts of taking and detaining a person with intent to obtain advantage. Melbon was due for parole on December 11 last year - but is now facing a longer stint behind bars. Nat Butcher make his NRL debut with the Roosters in 2016, and won a premiership three years later. Younger brother Egan has been on the books of the Tricolours since 2021.
