Get ready to see Bellyache blowing his stack. White must get at least one wek for sure.
Now White poised for grand final KO
Brad Walter | September 27, 2008
NSW Origin prop Brett White is set to join his suspended Storm captain Cam Smith on the sidelines for next Sunday's grand final after knocking out former flatmate Ben Ross for the second time this season in last night's defeat of Cronulla.
White, who told the Herald in the lead-up to his first meeting with Ross since the pair were sent off in round two that he had learnt the error of his ways, was placed on report for striking his front-row opposite with an elbow.
The seventh-minute incident, which continued the bad blood between two teams, whose players appear to share their coaches' dislike for each other, resulted in a dazed Ross being taken from the field. He did not return until late in the first half.
Running the ball near the Sharks line, White appeared to legitimately bump off Ross with his forearm but then raised his arm and had another two attempts. Replays suggested that while the initial point of contact might have been Ross's chest, he was then struck in the head by White's elbow.
After coming to the aid of Cooper Cronk when the Melbourne halfback was felled by Ross in the round two clash between the teams at Olympic Park, White received a four-match ban and he now faces another striking charge when the match review committee meets on Monday.
Because of his previous suspension, White is in a similar situation to Smith, who this week received a two-match ban for a grapple tackle after pleading guilty to the same offence earlier this season.
Even a grade-one striking charge - carrying a base penalty of 125 demerit points - would rule White out of the grand final, as he has carry-over points from the earlier ban and will also attract a 50 per cent loading.
Cronk and second-rower Michael Crocker are also set to come under scrutiny for a 68th-minute lifting tackle on Cronulla halfback Brett Kimmorley but the incident was not put on report and they should escape a charge.