Manly co-captain Jason King has escaped a charge for a high shot on Warriors forward Michael Luck which sparked a brawl and incensed the crowd during Saturday night's NRL trial match in Auckland.
Luck was assisted from the field after the brutal tackle, which local media said created a "powder keg atmosphere'' at North Harbour Stadium, where a crowd of around 15,000 turned out to see the 14-12 win to the Sea Eagles.
The NRL match review committee laid no charges on Monday, conceding the poor quality of video footage available from trial matches can be a factor in their decisions during the pre-season.
"As is the case with trial matches, the lack and quality of footage available to the match review committee can make determining the extent of any incident somewhat difficult, particularly when analysing the point of contact,'' a statement from the league said.
Match review committee notes confirmed the point of contact in the King tackle was "inconclusive", adding there was no swinging arm and Luck was in a low position.
Luck did not suffer any serious injury and King told reporters on Monday he didn't believe there was much in the hit.
"Hopefully there's nothing in it, I didn't think there really was,'' he said.
"Crowds call 'off, off, off' every time there's a penalty against a team so I'm not too sure if you read too much into that.''
The match review committee examined three other incidents from the weekend's trials.
Sydney Roosters forward Nate Myles was cleared of a lifting tackle on Wests Tigers back Wade McKinnon, while Cronulla recruit Jeremy Smith was deemed not to have tripped Newcastle's Mark Taufua.
Penrith half Luke Walsh's sickening hit on Parramatta's Daniel Mortimer, which also sparked a melee, was deemed legitimate.
Gold Coast youngster Ryan James will need to wait another day to know whether he faces a second pre-season suspension after he was placed on report in the trial against North Queensland.
Footage of the Titans-Cowboys match will not be available until Tuesday.
Luck was assisted from the field after the brutal tackle, which local media said created a "powder keg atmosphere'' at North Harbour Stadium, where a crowd of around 15,000 turned out to see the 14-12 win to the Sea Eagles.
The NRL match review committee laid no charges on Monday, conceding the poor quality of video footage available from trial matches can be a factor in their decisions during the pre-season.
"As is the case with trial matches, the lack and quality of footage available to the match review committee can make determining the extent of any incident somewhat difficult, particularly when analysing the point of contact,'' a statement from the league said.
Match review committee notes confirmed the point of contact in the King tackle was "inconclusive", adding there was no swinging arm and Luck was in a low position.
Luck did not suffer any serious injury and King told reporters on Monday he didn't believe there was much in the hit.
"Hopefully there's nothing in it, I didn't think there really was,'' he said.
"Crowds call 'off, off, off' every time there's a penalty against a team so I'm not too sure if you read too much into that.''
The match review committee examined three other incidents from the weekend's trials.
Sydney Roosters forward Nate Myles was cleared of a lifting tackle on Wests Tigers back Wade McKinnon, while Cronulla recruit Jeremy Smith was deemed not to have tripped Newcastle's Mark Taufua.
Penrith half Luke Walsh's sickening hit on Parramatta's Daniel Mortimer, which also sparked a melee, was deemed legitimate.
Gold Coast youngster Ryan James will need to wait another day to know whether he faces a second pre-season suspension after he was placed on report in the trial against North Queensland.
Footage of the Titans-Cowboys match will not be available until Tuesday.
