The NRL won’t be modifying its interchange rule in the wake of Joey Leilua’s last minute removal from the starting 13, due to what appeared to be remnants of an errant firework.
Leilua was treated on the sideline before kick-off for Saturday’s Canberra v Melbourne qualifying final, before returning to the change room for treatment.
The centre was running through an arch which was firing out steam and sparklers when the damage was done.
In his place, Bailey Simonsson scored the opening try after only three minutes.
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When Leilua was eventually cleared by a Canberra team doctor, he returned to the bench, eventually getting on the field, at the cost of an interchange, to replace a bloodied Nick Cotric.
“There is no provision under the rules, once you’ve made that initial change to put 13 players on the field to start the game, for a free interchange,” Annesley clarified during his weekly briefing on Monday afternoon.
“The only way that could have happened is if the Raiders had decided to have the injury treated inside and start the game with 12 players.
“Once you make the change, any further changes, under our rules, is one of the interchanges.”
While acknowledging the freak nature of the fireworks incident, the NRL’s head of football ruled out modifying the rule – in part to discourage clubs taking advantage.
“It’s a difficult one,” Annesley said. “The teams are announced an hour before the game. There’s a provision for if players get sick or are injured in a warm-up, so that’s why we have the process for a late change.
“If you had any other option for late changes you just have to be careful of the opportunity for the rule to be misused.
“Our current rule allows for it to happen if the player is injured in the warm-up. No rule is absolutely perfect but we think it adequately caters for most circumstances.”
The arch that the players ran through was present for the rest of the finals games – yet didn’t have the sparkler effect.
“Our events team have made some adjustments to ensure that won’t happen again,” Annesley said.
Fortunato Foti, the company responsible for the pre-game pyrotechnics, said in a statement: “We would … like to clarify that the cause of the incident was not a firework.
“The effect used is a spark simulation machine, which are classified as non-pyrotechnic. It appears that some grit from these machines came in contact with the players eye.
“Foti International have been using these non-pyrotechnic machines on a regular basis for 12 months without incident. The system is designed to be used in close proximity to people. “Foti International will carry out an internal investigation to properly assess the cause.”
