Cronulla captain Dale Finucane has accepted a three-week ban with an early guilty plea after being charged for his hip drop tackle on Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad.
Marata Niukore and Jayden Okunbor have also pleaded guilty and will spend time on the sideline after their respective hip drop incidents on Sunday.
The Sporting News wraps up all the judiciary charges from Round 5 of the 2023 NRL season.
Dale Finucane accepts three-match suspension after hip drop tackle
Dale Finucane has been handed a three-week ban for his hip drop tackle on Nicoll-Klokstad that saw him sent to the sin bin last Sunday afternoon.
The NRL judiciary charged the veteran with dangerous contact, noting that it was a third and subsequent offence on his record.
Finucane faced a four-week spell on the sideline if he went to the judiciary and was unsuccessful.
The 31-year-old challenged a ban after his hit on Stephen Crichton last season and was eventually found guilty.
Marata Niukore and Jayden Okunbor also handed bans for hip drops
Remarkably, all three charges issued following Sunday's matches were for hip drop tackles.
Warriors enforcer Marata Niukore will miss two matches for his offence on Siosifa Talakai that also saw play called back so the referee could send him to the sin bin.
Bulldogs utility Jayden Okunbor has been given a one-match suspension for his tackle on Jason Taumalolo.
Six players fined, no suspensions after Saturday NRL matches
After no charges were laid following Friday's games, the NRL judiciary was busier following Saturday's slate of matches.
Knights enforcer Lachlan Fitzgibbon dodged a suspension after his high shot on Sean Keppie in his side's 32-32 draw with the Sea Eagles. He will have to pay a $1,000 fine with an early guilty plea.
Dolphins prop Herman Ese'ese was charged with dangerous contact, whilst Dragons duo Mikaele Ravalawa (high tackle) and Jack de Belin (dangerous contact) were also both fined $1,000 from that game.
Fortunately for Wests Tigers, not much salt has been added to their existing wounds, with Fonua Pole (crusher tackle) and Junior Tupou (shoulder charge) avoiding suspension, instead fined $1,500 with an early plea.
Bailey Simonsson to miss two weeks after James Tedesco tackle
Parramatta Eels winger Bailey Simonsson will be spending some time on the sideline following his hit on Sydney Roosters captain James Tedesco on Thursday night.
The judiciary charged him with a grade three careless high tackle, banning him for two matches with an early guilty plea.
Simonsson was sent to the sin bin following the 24th-minute incident, where he collected Tedesco high and late.
The shot left the Blues and Kangaroos representative sprawled out on the pitch before he was able to gather himself and go off for a head injury assessment.
Simonsson with a MASSIVE hit on Tedesco. And he's sent to the bin for it.
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However, Tedesco didn’t return to the field, and will now miss his side’s clash with Melbourne next week after being subjected to the new 11-day mandatory stand-down period.
“It’s the first time that I’ve had to deal with that,” Robinson said post-match.
“10 minutes into the game, I knew that I’d lost Ted for two weeks, so that wasn’t a great feeling.
“I was expecting a send-off. I was ropeable at the time that it wasn’t a send-off.
“But then I looked at it after the game and I was sort of a bit more 50/50 about what I thought after I took some time to look at it.
“I don’t want to talk about that incident in particular because I know Simonsson didn’t go in or leave the ground and all of that, but Ted is now out for two weeks and it was high contact.
“So, based on where we're at, they’ll have to let us know whether that’s 10 minutes or a send-off.
“Where do we need to get to? I don’t know. I’ll sit on the fence with this one.”
| Player | Charge | Result | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bailey Simonsson | Careless High Tackle - Grade 3 | Guilty - Early Plea | 2 matches |
| Marata Niukore | Dangerous Contact - Grade 2 | Guilty - Early Plea | 2 matches |
| Dale Finucane | Dangerous Contact - Grade 2 | Guilty - Early Plea | 3 matches |
| Jayden Okunbor | Dangerous Contact - Grade 2 | Guilty - Early Plea | 1 match |
