With NSW already forced to make several changes as it is, due to injuries, they may well be forced into another one, after Knights and NSW winger Akuila Uate, was put on report for a spear tackle late in the game against his sides loss to the Tigers.
The game itself, regarded as a rather scrappy and dour affair, took 87 minutes to produce a result, after Tigers hooker Robbie Farah scooted out of dummy half, and slotted home the winning field goal, a much needed win for the Tigers.
Despite all this however, the main talking point from the game, was ‘that’ tackle by Uate, as he lifted Tigers debutant Tim Simona into the air, before crushing him into the ground.
Tigers coach Tim Sheens was furious with the tackle, and said that Simona had to ice his shoulder after the completion o the game, due to soreness, as a result of the tackle.
With Uate himself too distraught to talk after the game due to the tackle, Knights coach Rick Stone said that the incident can be described as an “amateurish error”.
“Looking at the replay he’s got his hands between his legs, but the player looks to land more on his back,” Stone said.
“Any time you put the hand between the legs it’s a grey area and they crack down hard on that.
Sheens however was far from sympathetic for Uate, and got straight to the point.
“He’s picked him up and I think he had his hands in the wrong place. He’s dumped the kid on his shoulder, and the kid has got icing on in there. There’s no doubt it wasn’t a good tackle,” Sheens said.
“It’s not my problem, the judiciary will take care of it.”
The only downside for the Tigers, one that is sure to mar their win, is the possible season-ending injury for winger Lote Tuqiri with a knee injury, who only just returned from a broken arm last night.
Dally M Points
3 Robbie Farah
2 Benji Marshall
1 Neville Costigan