Crusher-tackle charge leaves Bulldogs forward in a state of angst
Cotter, however, is facing only a two-match ban, which will allow him a chance to freshen up and prepare for the series opener.
Meanwhile, Melbourne forwards Trent Loiero and Stefano Utoikamanu avoided suspension but are facing some Craig Bellamy-style discipline after the Storm's fiery 20-18 golden-point loss to Canberra at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday.
Loiero and Utoikamanu both conceded penalties in possession that allowed Canberra to recover from an early 14-0 deficit and seal a famous win with a Jamal Fogarty penalty goal in the first period of extra time.
Speaking after the game, Bellamy was clearly frustrated, and neither Loiero nor Utoikamanu are likely to be looking forward to Melbourne's video-review session.
'Lapses in our discipline probably cost us there ... one thing we can control is our actions, so to give away two penalties when you've got the ball, it doesn't happen too often,' Bellamy said.
'And to do it in the one game, it cost us. It cost us. It cost us dearly ... we just need to be a bit disciplined and know what our best footy is.'
Storm playmaker Cameron Munster, deputising as skipper in the absence of Harry Grant, admitted Melbourne 'played some dumb footy'.
But the champion five-eighth was loath to criticise Loiero - who also conceded the game-breaking penalty after a high shot on Young - because he had made similar mistakes himself in the past.
'He's a great player ... I'm not going to sit here and bag him,' Munster said. 'He's done so much great stuff for us as a club. He's an integral and influential part of the team.'
Loiero and Utoikamanu were outliers on a Magic Round weekend that was in stark contrast to the mayhem a week earlier, when 18 players were sin-binned - including 15 for high tackles - across eight games.
Only one player, Cronulla forward Jesse Colquhoun, was binned in the opening two days and five games of Magic Round and Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon admitted he 'deserved it' for a blatant professional foul.
Three more sin-binnings followed in the first game on Sunday - Gold Coast pair Brian Kelly and Chris Randall and Preston.
Regardless of whether there was less drama in Magic Round because players were on their best behaviour, or because match officials opted for a more lenient approach, the end result was collective applause from coaches, media and fans.
The eighth Immortal, Andrew Johns, who a week earlier described the high-tackle crackdown as 'absolutely farcical', told the Sunday Footy Show: 'Every game has flowed. It's been high energy. I've loved it.'
Other players charged by the match-review panel over the weekend were South Sydney prop Tevita Tatola, Cronulla playmaker Braydon Trindall, Roosters utility Zach Dockar-Clay, Dolphins second-rower Kulikefu Finefeuiaki, Gold Coast prop Moeaki Fotuaika and Canberra centre Sebastian Kris, all of whom are facing fines.
Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon had no issue with Colquhoun's sin-binning, saying it was an 'obvious one' that warranted on-field action.
Loading
'That's a professional foul every day of the week, so you've just got to wear that,' he said.
Fitzgibbon said it was a relief to get through a game without having multiple players sent to the sheds for 10 minutes.
'We don't want to see people in the bin,' he said. 'Who wants to see that?
'We don't want to see people get smashed in the face, but we don't want to see them in the bin.
'I thought it was handled well … I thought some of the penalties that weren't quite high were a little bit not a penalty, but everything else was all right.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
3 hours ago
- The Age
Dearden is the right No.7 for Maroons. But these numbers are terrifying for a halfback
Wearing the No.7 in 35 games, Dearden has lost 26 of them. That's a win percentage of just 26 per cent. Of course, the asterisk to that is the majority of those matches came at the Broncos, when they finished with the wooden spoon in 2020, and the Cowboys a year later, when they came second last. Dearden has grown like nothing else since then when he had so much unfair pressure on him as a young halfback, but my point is there's a lot of pressure coming again in the Origin arena. Particularly given the way Queensland's middle forwards were completely destroyed in game one. Payne Haas, Isaah Yeo and Mitch Barnett just rolled right through the Maroons, and then Zac Lomax and Brian To'o did the same from dummy-half. Queensland's halves were stuck on the back foot pretty much from the first play of the game. And from the bench, NSW had far more impact as well in Connor Watson, Spencer Leniu and Hudson Young. Young, especially, I thought coming on as a middle was a real point of difference. He brought unorthodox running lines and offloads after contact – exactly what you want from your bench. If Queensland can't contain the Blues' yardage game, they could lose the series in Perth and have a cricket score put on them, too. NSW have already won the two Origins played in WA by 32 points each (38-6 in 2019 and 44-12 in 2022). For Queensland's spine, they need something like a platform from their forwards that they just didn't have in game one, but they also need to get on the same page. If Harry Grant takes off for dummy-half, Dearden and Munster need to be right there with him pushing up around the ruck. He needs more support. Kalyn Ponga also needs to be looking for the footy and be brought into play by his halves. Ponga saw no ball at all in Origin I, and neither his nor Munster's running games were a factor at all. But with talk of wet weather, the long kicking games of Nathan Cleary and Mitchell Moses, and then the Blues dominant yardage game, this is such a big test for Queensland. And their new No. 7. Half measures: how do you spark the Sharks spine? In similar fashion, the Dragons and Sharks are coming off big losses – St George Illawarra were pumped by the Dolphins and Cronulla lost by 26 points to the Roosters and 30 to Warriors at home. For the Warriors to thump them on their home track, beating the Sharks at the effort areas that are built into Cronulla's DNA, would have driven Craig Fitzgibbon absolutely mad. With no Origin players, this is the time of the year the Sharks should be banking those wins that have shored up their top four spot in previous seasons. Consider the draws for both sides. After Thursday's clash, the Dragons have the bye and then Parramatta (home) and Canberra (away). The Sharks have Brisbane (away), Storm (away) and then the bye. These are both tricky periods that will only get tougher for whoever loses this one. For mine, Cronulla need to attack more out of dummy-half – and that could be as simple as Blayke Brailey really upping his run threat. Last year when Nicho Hynes and Braydon Trindall were both out injured, the Sharks pulled off a 25-18 upset win over the Storm in Melbourne – which is unheard of for a lot of teams. Brailey was named at halfback but played hooker, and he ran all night with Daniel Atkinson coming into the halves and really supporting him around the ruck. Does Atkinson need to come into this Sharks side again for Nicho or Trindall? I don't know what their best spine looks like, but Atkinson definitely straightens their attack up and gets Cronulla going forward. For Dragons fans, it's tough to hear, but there really are some good young players coming through if they can stay patient. Loading Dylan Egan is out with a ruptured ACL, but he, the Couchman twins Ryan and Toby, and Hamish Stewart are all local juniors and guys you can build a forward pack around. The big front-rower Loko Pasifiki Tonga, he will take a few years, but he already looks like a topline player up front. So too their young five-eighth Lyhkan King-Togia. But again, with rain forecast, I think the wet weather footy suits Cronulla, – especially with the dummy-half running they get from wingers Sione Katoa and Ronaldo Mulitalo. The blueprint tomorrow? Complete high. Kick early and tackle everything that moves. Win ugly. Joey's tip: Sharks by 10
Sydney Morning Herald
3 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Dearden is the right No.7 for Maroons. But these numbers are terrifying for a halfback
Wearing the No.7 in 35 games, Dearden has lost 26 of them. That's a win percentage of just 26 per cent. Of course, the asterisk to that is the majority of those matches came at the Broncos, when they finished with the wooden spoon in 2020, and the Cowboys a year later, when they came second last. Dearden has grown like nothing else since then when he had so much unfair pressure on him as a young halfback, but my point is there's a lot of pressure coming again in the Origin arena. Particularly given the way Queensland's middle forwards were completely destroyed in game one. Payne Haas, Isaah Yeo and Mitch Barnett just rolled right through the Maroons, and then Zac Lomax and Brian To'o did the same from dummy-half. Queensland's halves were stuck on the back foot pretty much from the first play of the game. And from the bench, NSW had far more impact as well in Connor Watson, Spencer Leniu and Hudson Young. Young, especially, I thought coming on as a middle was a real point of difference. He brought unorthodox running lines and offloads after contact – exactly what you want from your bench. If Queensland can't contain the Blues' yardage game, they could lose the series in Perth and have a cricket score put on them, too. NSW have already won the two Origins played in WA by 32 points each (38-6 in 2019 and 44-12 in 2022). For Queensland's spine, they need something like a platform from their forwards that they just didn't have in game one, but they also need to get on the same page. If Harry Grant takes off for dummy-half, Dearden and Munster need to be right there with him pushing up around the ruck. He needs more support. Kalyn Ponga also needs to be looking for the footy and be brought into play by his halves. Ponga saw no ball at all in Origin I, and neither his nor Munster's running games were a factor at all. But with talk of wet weather, the long kicking games of Nathan Cleary and Mitchell Moses, and then the Blues dominant yardage game, this is such a big test for Queensland. And their new No. 7. Half measures: how do you spark the Sharks spine? In similar fashion, the Dragons and Sharks are coming off big losses – St George Illawarra were pumped by the Dolphins and Cronulla lost by 26 points to the Roosters and 30 to Warriors at home. For the Warriors to thump them on their home track, beating the Sharks at the effort areas that are built into Cronulla's DNA, would have driven Craig Fitzgibbon absolutely mad. With no Origin players, this is the time of the year the Sharks should be banking those wins that have shored up their top four spot in previous seasons. Consider the draws for both sides. After Thursday's clash, the Dragons have the bye and then Parramatta (home) and Canberra (away). The Sharks have Brisbane (away), Storm (away) and then the bye. These are both tricky periods that will only get tougher for whoever loses this one. For mine, Cronulla need to attack more out of dummy-half – and that could be as simple as Blayke Brailey really upping his run threat. Last year when Nicho Hynes and Braydon Trindall were both out injured, the Sharks pulled off a 25-18 upset win over the Storm in Melbourne – which is unheard of for a lot of teams. Brailey was named at halfback but played hooker, and he ran all night with Daniel Atkinson coming into the halves and really supporting him around the ruck. Does Atkinson need to come into this Sharks side again for Nicho or Trindall? I don't know what their best spine looks like, but Atkinson definitely straightens their attack up and gets Cronulla going forward. For Dragons fans, it's tough to hear, but there really are some good young players coming through if they can stay patient. Loading Dylan Egan is out with a ruptured ACL, but he, the Couchman twins Ryan and Toby, and Hamish Stewart are all local juniors and guys you can build a forward pack around. The big front-rower Loko Pasifiki Tonga, he will take a few years, but he already looks like a topline player up front. So too their young five-eighth Lyhkan King-Togia. But again, with rain forecast, I think the wet weather footy suits Cronulla, – especially with the dummy-half running they get from wingers Sione Katoa and Ronaldo Mulitalo. The blueprint tomorrow? Complete high. Kick early and tackle everything that moves. Win ugly. Joey's tip: Sharks by 10
The Advertiser
6 hours ago
- The Advertiser
'A great fit' - Aussie weapon hailed by the Lions
British & Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell believes his Australian replacement call-up Finlay Bealham will prove a "great fit" for the squad following the "heartbreaking" withdrawal of injured Scotland prop Zander Fagerson. Glasgow Warriors tighthead Fagerson has been ruled out of the summer tour to Australia with a calf problem, prompting Farrell to bring in the Canberra-born Bealham, who he's coached when in charge of Ireland. The news of Fagerson's withdrawal came a day before the squad - minus those involved in Premiership and United Rugby Championship finals - headed out to Portugal for a training camp. Farrell, though, accepts such situations are part of the game, with the group now looking to sharpen focus towards a warm-up fixture against Argentina in Dublin on June 20. "It is heartbreaking, but at the same time, he (Fagerson) is a realist. All rugby players know that's the game," Farrell said. "He will work unbelievably hard to get himself fit and who knows what's going to happen down the track." On Ireland's Bealham being added to the squad, Farrell said: "Finlay has been called up in his place and he is in good form. He is very good at what he does. "He was certainly right up there in the conversation from the very start as well, and he would have been disappointed not to make the group. "So we just know he will be a great fit for the group going forward. He is the only conversation that I was able to have because of the way we did the squad announcement. "By giving him a phone call and telling him he was selected within the squad, unfortunately for Zander, but it was one of the best phone conversations I have ever had. "The emotion that went through the phone actually welled me up. It was great to be able to do that." With 15 of the selected players still on club duty - including 12 from Leinster - England duo Jamie George and Asher Opoku-Fordjour have also joined the five-day training camp at Quinta do Lago to provide some front-row cover. The fixture against Argentina is set to be a first Lions game played in Ireland. The tour of Australia schedule - which features three Tests against the Wallabies - begins against Western Force in Perth on June 28. British & Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell believes his Australian replacement call-up Finlay Bealham will prove a "great fit" for the squad following the "heartbreaking" withdrawal of injured Scotland prop Zander Fagerson. Glasgow Warriors tighthead Fagerson has been ruled out of the summer tour to Australia with a calf problem, prompting Farrell to bring in the Canberra-born Bealham, who he's coached when in charge of Ireland. The news of Fagerson's withdrawal came a day before the squad - minus those involved in Premiership and United Rugby Championship finals - headed out to Portugal for a training camp. Farrell, though, accepts such situations are part of the game, with the group now looking to sharpen focus towards a warm-up fixture against Argentina in Dublin on June 20. "It is heartbreaking, but at the same time, he (Fagerson) is a realist. All rugby players know that's the game," Farrell said. "He will work unbelievably hard to get himself fit and who knows what's going to happen down the track." On Ireland's Bealham being added to the squad, Farrell said: "Finlay has been called up in his place and he is in good form. He is very good at what he does. "He was certainly right up there in the conversation from the very start as well, and he would have been disappointed not to make the group. "So we just know he will be a great fit for the group going forward. He is the only conversation that I was able to have because of the way we did the squad announcement. "By giving him a phone call and telling him he was selected within the squad, unfortunately for Zander, but it was one of the best phone conversations I have ever had. "The emotion that went through the phone actually welled me up. It was great to be able to do that." With 15 of the selected players still on club duty - including 12 from Leinster - England duo Jamie George and Asher Opoku-Fordjour have also joined the five-day training camp at Quinta do Lago to provide some front-row cover. The fixture against Argentina is set to be a first Lions game played in Ireland. The tour of Australia schedule - which features three Tests against the Wallabies - begins against Western Force in Perth on June 28. British & Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell believes his Australian replacement call-up Finlay Bealham will prove a "great fit" for the squad following the "heartbreaking" withdrawal of injured Scotland prop Zander Fagerson. Glasgow Warriors tighthead Fagerson has been ruled out of the summer tour to Australia with a calf problem, prompting Farrell to bring in the Canberra-born Bealham, who he's coached when in charge of Ireland. The news of Fagerson's withdrawal came a day before the squad - minus those involved in Premiership and United Rugby Championship finals - headed out to Portugal for a training camp. Farrell, though, accepts such situations are part of the game, with the group now looking to sharpen focus towards a warm-up fixture against Argentina in Dublin on June 20. "It is heartbreaking, but at the same time, he (Fagerson) is a realist. All rugby players know that's the game," Farrell said. "He will work unbelievably hard to get himself fit and who knows what's going to happen down the track." On Ireland's Bealham being added to the squad, Farrell said: "Finlay has been called up in his place and he is in good form. He is very good at what he does. "He was certainly right up there in the conversation from the very start as well, and he would have been disappointed not to make the group. "So we just know he will be a great fit for the group going forward. He is the only conversation that I was able to have because of the way we did the squad announcement. "By giving him a phone call and telling him he was selected within the squad, unfortunately for Zander, but it was one of the best phone conversations I have ever had. "The emotion that went through the phone actually welled me up. It was great to be able to do that." With 15 of the selected players still on club duty - including 12 from Leinster - England duo Jamie George and Asher Opoku-Fordjour have also joined the five-day training camp at Quinta do Lago to provide some front-row cover. The fixture against Argentina is set to be a first Lions game played in Ireland. The tour of Australia schedule - which features three Tests against the Wallabies - begins against Western Force in Perth on June 28.
