Wests Tigersremarkable win over the Penrith Panthers was marred by centre Brent Naden being marched to the sin bin – and the struggling club is sweating over a potential suspension.
With scores locked up at 6-6, Naden was sent to the sin bin in the 17th minute for a dangerous shoulder charge on second-rower Zac Hosking.
What may have worked in Naden’s favour was Hosking’s decision to move on from the hit straight away – and Mal Meninga believes that saved him from a send-off.
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“The Penrith player (Hosking) didn’t go down, I think that saved Brent Naden. The initial contact … I’m thinking that could be a send-off, but obviously he’s very lucky (Hosking) got up very quickly,” Meninga said on Fox League.
On the live coverage, Naden’s hit brought shock from commentators and players alike with a scuffle breaking out after the incident.
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Panthers centre Stephen Crichton and Naden came together with tensions threatening to boil over.
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Cooper Cronk argued there was no other decision to make for the referee.
“Lucky it wasn’t severe contact because it looked pretty devastating to start with,” he said.
“But I agree with the sin-bin, there’s nothing else the referee could’ve done.”
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