State of Origin: Maroons' Reuben Cotter claims he wasn't eye-gouged by Blues' Jarome Luai
Queensland forward Reuben Cotter says he was not eye-gouged by NSW's Jarome Luai in State of Origin II.
Luai was given a grade 2 contrary conduct charge for making unnecessary contact with Cotter's face in a tackle during NSW's 26-24 loss in Perth on Wednesday night.
The charge came after Queensland fullback Kalyn Ponga appeared to accuse Luai of eye-gouging in the first half.
Cotter had dived on a loose ball when Blues prop Payne Haas lost possession, before Luai drove into the Maroons second-rower on the ground.
His hand appeared to make contact with Cotter's face as the pair pushed each other off, before Ponga made a raking motion to sideline officials.
Luai was placed on report but cleared of an eye-gouge by the NRL match review committee and instead handed a $3,900 fine.
Cotter said he had no issue with the incident.
"I didn't get eye-gouged at all," Cotter said.
"He (Luai) just came in with his elbow or his shoulder, I'm not sure what he came in with.
"I just stood up for myself, tried to push him off me."
Cotter was sporting a heavy lump to his eye in the Maroons' dressing room after the match.
But he said that came from a clash with Liam Martin late in the second half.
NSW players and coaches defended Luai, who was penalised following the incident.
It was one of eight penalties the Blues gave away in the first half, while they finished the match on the wrong side of a 10-2 count.
Blues coach Laurie Daley opted not to comment on the penalty count, claiming he could not say what he really thought on the matter.
But Blues captain Isaah Yeo conceded NSW had to wear some of the blame for the ill-discipline.
"There were certainly a few we were shooting ourselves with and they're just penalties," Yeo said.
"Some others were 50-50s. Some nights you get them and some nights you don't.
"But what you can't do is just go drop the ball in the next set when you've got the ball.
"You would obviously like that to be a bit more even, but we were our own worst enemies at times."
AAP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
31 minutes ago
- News.com.au
State of Origin highlights: Everything you need to know from Game Two
Queensland has sent the 2025 State of Origin series to a decider, holding off a fast-finishing NSW to win 26-24 and ensure there's all to play for in Game Three next month. CODE Sports has everything you need to know about the thrilling clash, including Queensland bouncing back from their Game One horror show to force a decider, the Blues falling just short of an all-time great comeback, Jarome Luai being put on report for an alleged eye gouge and more. STATE OF ORIGIN GAME TWO AS IT HAPPENED - EVERY SCORING PLAY 72 minutes: Angus Crichton scores to put the Blues on the verge of an almighty comeback, diving on to a brilliant Jarome Luai grubber. Zac Lomax converts and it's 26-24 to Queensland. 65 minutes: Brian To'o gets his third try of the night, barging over in the corner again to give the Blues a huge chance of a comeback. Zac Lomax misses the conversion and Queensland leads 26-18. 57 minutes: Stephen Crichton barges over in the corner to continue NSW's comeback, breaking through the tackles of Valentine Holmes, Xavier Coates and Kalyn Ponga. Zac Lomax misses the conversion, Queensland lead 26-14. 31 minutes: Cameron Munster crosses for Queensland, running on to a ball from Melbourne teammate Harry Grant to cross next to the posts. Val Holmes converts and Queensland lead 20-6. 29 minutes: Val Holmes extends Queensland's lead with a penalty goal, after Zac Lomax is penalised for an elbow to the head of Trent Loiero. Queensland lead 14-6. 20 minutes: Queensland hit the front and it's Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow again, the Maroons winger flying high over NSW opposite Brian To'o to reel in a Tom Dearden kick and score in the corner. Val Holmes converts and Queensland go ahead, 12-6. 13 minutes: Queensland hit back almost immediately through Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, who crosses out wide after a nice backline move. Val Holmes converts from out wide to level the scores, 6-all. 6 minutes: NSW opens the scoring through Brian To'o, who dives on the loose ball in the corner following a Jarome Luai grubber that was expertly toed ahead by Angus Crichton. Zac Lomax converts from out wide, NSW lead 6-0.
The Australian
32 minutes ago
- The Australian
Australian tennis ace Ash Barty announces birth of second child
Australian tennis ace Ash Barty has welcomed her second child to the world. Barty announced the birth of baby girl, Jordan, on her Instagram on Monday afternoon. 'Welcome to the world, Jordan,' the 29-year-old wrote next to a cute photo of the baby yawning in a onesie with the words 'Embrace your weird'. 'You are loved unconditionally and we are so grateful to have you in our arms, gorgeous girl.' It's the second child for Barty and husband Garry Kissick. Their son Hayden will soon turn two. Ash Barty is a mum, again. Ash Barty shared a first pic of Jordan. Picture: Instagram Fellow sports stars and celebs were quick to offer their congratulations. 'There she is, hi gorgeous Jordan. Can't wait to cuddle you soon. Good job Mum and Dad xx,' wrote tennis great Casey Dellacqua. Swimming great Giaan Rooney commented: 'Huge congratulations team!'. And Dr Chris Brown shared similar sentiments: 'Congrats you guys!! So special.' Barty and Kissick announced they were expanding their brood in an Instagram post late on Christmas Day. Hayden appeared in the post in a T-shirt reading 'I am going to be a big brother'. The caption read: 'Merry Christmas from our growing family to yours!'. Ash Barty is having baby number two. Picture: Ash Barty/Instagram Ash Barty and husband Garry Kissick. Picture: David Geraghty In an interview with the Courier Mail in January, Barty opened up about the most surprising thing she had learned about parenthood. 'No two days are the same! Being patient and learning to accept that it's OK to not get it right all the time. It's hard but it is the greatest thing I've ever done, I feel very lucky to have Hayden,' she said. Read related topics: Ashleigh Barty Maria Bervanakis Morning Digital Editor Maria Bervanakis is the Morning Digital Editor at News Corp's Premium National News Network. With more than a decades' experience at News Corp, she leads a team to produce national and world stories across all masthead titles. @bervanews Maria Bervanakis
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
‘Privately seething': NRL club filthy as Nathan Cleary secret exposed
This isn't a good look for Laurie Daley and his lieutenants. The NSW camp has been exposed in staggering fashion with the truth of Nathan Cleary's fitness clear for all to see as soon as he stepped onto the Optus Stadium turf on Wednesday. It was rumoured during the week Cleary had been put on a restricted training program and Channel 9 reported on Wednesday night Cleary had been reduced to 'kicking by visualisation' during the Blues' final training session. All of this caught the Panthers by surprise, Code Sports reports. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. It comes as another bomb was dropped on the NSW camp on Wednesday with suggestions the Blues had mishandled Mitchell Moses' training program before the Eels star suffered a serious calf injury which ruled him out of Game 2. The strategy to protect Cleary may have been an over-reaction after Parramatta officials were reportedly left furious about the injury Moses suffered last week. Scans showed Moses will be out of action for at least six weeks. Code Sports reports Moses carried a calf complaint for several weeks and had been carefully managed by Eels high performance staff. According to the report, NSW training staff were informed of the situation when Moses first went into camp. 'Eels officials are believed to be privately seething with the injury to their talismanic skipper,' leading NRL journalists Brent Read and Michael Carayannis reported. Moses has already missed several games for Parramatta this season because of a foot injury. Cleary, meanwhile, was hot and cold throughout the night as Queensland piled on 26 points in the first half before holding on for a thrilling 26-24 win. According to Code Sports, the Panthers were not aware of any injuries Cleary was carrying that would have forced him to take such extreme measures. He ran onto the field looking out of sorts and the sight of a compression bandage wrapped around his upper right leg was a damning sign of things to come. Cleary had enough classy touches to justify his selection by NSW coach Laurie Daley, but the revelations that have since come out from Penrith shows something was not right. Code Sports reports Penrith officials were 'dumbfounded by Cleary's apparent injury'. The halfback handed goalkicking duties over to Zac Lomax — who kicked two goals from five attempts — and he relied on Jarome Luai and Latrell Mitchell to do the bulk of the downfield kicking. According to NewsWire, Cleary kicked just three times in the first half. He finished the game with 11 kicks for 295 metres, while he also ran five times. The mystery of how Cleary went downhill so significantly after joining his teammates in NSW camp remains unknown — and it seems even the Panthers are out of the loop. Former NSW coach Brad Fittler said it will be 'interesting' to see how Cleary recovers. Cleary will not play in the Panthers' clash with the Warriors in New Zealand on Saturday, but is expected to be selected to play in the Panthers' Round 17 battle with the Bulldogs on June 26. 'There is a problem, without a doubt,' Fittler said on Nine. 'It's an upper thigh, around the groin (issue). He's the ultimate professional. He's one of those blokes who is kicking as much as anyone. He's running as much as everyone. He's doing every thing he can. 'Every now and again your body just says, 'You know what, you have to slow up a little bit here'. So let's just hope it calms down.' Daley provided an update on Cleary's groin injury in the press conference after Game 2. 'He just felt a bit tight in his groin so we wanted to sort of limit the amount of force he put through there,' Daley said. 'He's a tough kid, Nathan. We know what a quality player he is, but he's tough.' Daley said the Blues had a plan to 'limit the amount of force that he put through' his leg. Meanwhile, the Panthers are confident Cleary will be fit to face the Bulldogs next Thursday. Cleary took the line on a couple of times in the first half against Queensland and had a try disallowed for obstruction, but the Blues need him to be 100 per cent for the decider given they're already without Moses. The Panthers desperately need him to play the ladder-leading Bulldogs given they are one point outside the top eight and will be without their Origin stars for the game against the Warriors.
