Date April 30, 2013
Teammate Daly Cherry-Evans believes Manly centre Steve Matai is facing suspension because of his history and fearsome reputation.
Matai was charged with a grade one careless high tackle on South Sydney's George Burgess in Friday night's loss at Brookvale Oval.
The hit, in which Matai's arm appeared to slip up off the ball toward Burgess' head, sparked an all-in melee.
Coach Geoff Toovey was seemingly at a loss on Tuesday morning how to approach the Matai charge - arguing the system was geared against success at the judiciary.
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And Matai's teammates made their feelings known on the tackle itself, rallying behind the hard-hitting former New Zealand international.
"Are you allowed to swear? That was f*cking awesome man," winger Jorge Taufua said of the hit.
"I love playing outside that guy. When he pulls it off, I just lose it.
"I loved it."
Halfback Cherry-Evans was less colourful, but just as clear when asked about the tackle, claiming Matai was paying a price for previous sins.
"I thought it was a cracker of a hit," Cherry-Evans said.
"...(I am) very surprised that he's been charged.
"We see those sort of tackles week after week and no one else seems to cop any grunt from it.
"It's just because, unfortunately, Steve's built up a bit of a resume when it comes to the judiciary.
"That one, I thought was pretty fair and he should be right to play hopefully."
The Sea Eagles had until midday on Tuesday to decide whether to fight Matai's charge, as well as two charges against prop Richie Fa'aoso for dangerous throws on Greg Inglis.
Toovey was adamant he had yet to make a decision and seemed torn.
The Manly coach said he had not spoken to referee's boss Daniel Anderson about the fallout from Friday's spiteful clash at Brookvale Oval, but did speak to former referee Russell Smith, who reviewed the game, and got nowhere.
"As I said, it's just a waste of time. Why bother," Toovey said.
According to Toovey, fighting Matai's low grade charge was nearly impossible as the burden of proof was on the Sea Eagles to prove there was no contact with the head or neck, leaving them at the mercy of what the various camera angles can pick up.
"We've looked at it 1000 times with different angles (and) you can't positively say he did or he didn't (make contact with the head)," Toovey said.
"The bloke who he tackles (Burgess) jumps up and gets into the barney just after it so... come on, please.
"...And unfortunately you've got to prove your innocence.
"How can you do that when the camera angles aren't there? They'll just speculate that you did hit him."
With an early guilty plea, Matai would miss Monday's clash with St George Illawarra while Fa'aoso faces between eight and 10 matches out for his combined charges.
AAP
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/matai-is-a-judiciary-target-says-cherryevans-20130430-2ipx1.html#ixzz2Rvc9YrHw
Teammate Daly Cherry-Evans believes Manly centre Steve Matai is facing suspension because of his history and fearsome reputation.
Matai was charged with a grade one careless high tackle on South Sydney's George Burgess in Friday night's loss at Brookvale Oval.
The hit, in which Matai's arm appeared to slip up off the ball toward Burgess' head, sparked an all-in melee.
Coach Geoff Toovey was seemingly at a loss on Tuesday morning how to approach the Matai charge - arguing the system was geared against success at the judiciary.
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And Matai's teammates made their feelings known on the tackle itself, rallying behind the hard-hitting former New Zealand international.
"Are you allowed to swear? That was f*cking awesome man," winger Jorge Taufua said of the hit.
"I love playing outside that guy. When he pulls it off, I just lose it.
"I loved it."
Halfback Cherry-Evans was less colourful, but just as clear when asked about the tackle, claiming Matai was paying a price for previous sins.
"I thought it was a cracker of a hit," Cherry-Evans said.
"...(I am) very surprised that he's been charged.
"We see those sort of tackles week after week and no one else seems to cop any grunt from it.
"It's just because, unfortunately, Steve's built up a bit of a resume when it comes to the judiciary.
"That one, I thought was pretty fair and he should be right to play hopefully."
The Sea Eagles had until midday on Tuesday to decide whether to fight Matai's charge, as well as two charges against prop Richie Fa'aoso for dangerous throws on Greg Inglis.
Toovey was adamant he had yet to make a decision and seemed torn.
The Manly coach said he had not spoken to referee's boss Daniel Anderson about the fallout from Friday's spiteful clash at Brookvale Oval, but did speak to former referee Russell Smith, who reviewed the game, and got nowhere.
"As I said, it's just a waste of time. Why bother," Toovey said.
According to Toovey, fighting Matai's low grade charge was nearly impossible as the burden of proof was on the Sea Eagles to prove there was no contact with the head or neck, leaving them at the mercy of what the various camera angles can pick up.
"We've looked at it 1000 times with different angles (and) you can't positively say he did or he didn't (make contact with the head)," Toovey said.
"The bloke who he tackles (Burgess) jumps up and gets into the barney just after it so... come on, please.
"...And unfortunately you've got to prove your innocence.
"How can you do that when the camera angles aren't there? They'll just speculate that you did hit him."
With an early guilty plea, Matai would miss Monday's clash with St George Illawarra while Fa'aoso faces between eight and 10 matches out for his combined charges.
AAP
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/matai-is-a-judiciary-target-says-cherryevans-20130430-2ipx1.html#ixzz2Rvc9YrHw
