South Sydney forward Luke Burgess says his brother Sam is a victim of modern rugby league after earning his fourth suspension of the year playing for England at the World Cup.
Sam Burgess was suspended for England's upcoming group game against Ireland after catching Australia's Sam Thaiday with a high shot in the tournament opener last weekend.
But Luke believes his younger brother was hard done by.
"He plays the game hard and he definitely wouldn't have been taking the head off Sam Thaiday. Unfortunately, (it was) a bit of mistiming. It was just accidental," Luke told SportsFan Clubhouse.
"Sam's not a nasty person. Anyone that knows Sammy knows he's a great bloke, and when he gets on the football field he likes to play the game hard, he always has done.
"The game we play now is so fast and players have got such good footwork these days, (with) players ducking into tackles."