Melbourne Storm prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona is fronting the NRL judiciary on Monday night to contest the four-game ban he received for a Careless High Tackle in Friday's preliminary final.
Asofa-Solomona was charged with a Grade 3 Careless High Tackle following an incident involving Roosters prop Lindsay Collins in the opening minute of the game at AAMI Park.
As this is the third and subsequent offence of this nature for Asofa-Solomona it carried a four-game ban with an early guilty plea, ruling the big man out of the grand final against the Panthers.
He will need to earn a downgrade from a Grade 3 to a Grade 1 if he is to be available for the decider.
Asofa-Solomona arrived at Rugby League Central accompanied by Melbourne Storm GM of Football Frank Ponissi.
The Storm prop is being represented by Sydney lawyer Nick Ghabar. The NRL legal counsel is Lachlan Gyles, SC.
Follow the Asofa-Solomona hearing here...
8.00pm Judiciary chair Geoffrey Bellew is now giving instructions. He told panel members Bob Lindner and Paul Simpkins that it was up to them to determine the grading of the tackle based upon the evidence. “What is not the issue is whether or not this player plays in a grand final. That is not relevant. You simply treat this like any other case,” Bellew said. “Finally in terms of the comparable incident you should strive for consistency. If you determine the Holmes tackle was inappropriately graded you should ignore it.”
7.55pm In response, Gyles said that the Holmes case had not come before the judiciary as he pleaded guilty so wasn’t a comparison. He said that force was generated by both players.
7.52pm Ghabar has finished his submissions.
7.43pm “If player Asofa-Solomona bent his back he was at risk of clashing heads with player Katoa or clashing heads with player Collins,” Ghabar said. “Player Collins didn’t raise his bumpers to protect himself.
“In terms of generating force, player Collins in my respectful submission was responsible for that. Player Collins was coming at a great speed and he didn’t take action to protect himself, which is unfortunate.”
7.38pm Analysing video footage of the incident, Ghabar said the speed at which Collins was running gave the defenders little time to adjust their height.
7.32pm Ghabar told the hearing that Collins has left the field for a HIA on 11 occasions in 131 matches.
7.26pm Ghabar said the tackle was at the lower end of the range of careless as his arms are outstretched, the tackle is front on, he doesn’t rush out of the line, and his feet remain on the ground. “I do accept that player Asofa-Solomona could have bent more, but he is a large man,” Ghabar said.
7.23pm Gyles said the tackle by Holmes in Origin was not comparable because Haas got up and played on. In comparison, he said of the Asofa-Solomona tackle:
“It’s certainly not entry level and not moderate level. In my respectful submission you should be satisfied that the MRC got it right and this is a Grade 3”.
7,20pm Watching video of the incident, Gyles said that Katoa dropped in the tackle, whereas Asofa-Solomona “rises if anything”. “There was no duty of care,” he said.
7.17pm Gyles said there was a high level of force and risk of injury. “There was direct contact to the head or neck with the shoulder. There was no mitigating circumstances in that player Collins ran straight, he didn’t step. The injury is taken into consideration.”
7.14pm Gyles: Player Collins missed the most important game of the season for his team, and if they had won he would have missed the grand fins because of the 11-day stand down.
7.12pm Asofa-Solomona has pleaded guilty to a Grade 1 offence if the charge is downgraded.
Gyles said the fact it was Grand Final week shouldn’t influence the grading or penalty for Asofa-Solomona.
7.11pm The defence is now showing a video of a tackle by Queensland centre Val Holmes on NSW prop Payne Haas during Origin II as a comparison. Holmes pleaded guilty to a Grade 1 Careless High Tackle.
7.07pm Ghabar to Morgan: “The primary reason the player could not return to the field is because you deemed him a Category 1 head injury.”
Morgan replied that Collins had displayed symptoms consistent with a Category 1 concussion.
7.03pm Under cross-examination from Asofa-Solomona’s counsel Nick Ghabar, Morgan was asked if Collins displayed clear onfield signs of concussion. Morgan said that he did. Ghabar said that was not a medical diagnosis.
Ghabar: “You have not made a diagnosis of concussion”.
Morgan: “In the report under diagnosis, I said there were clear symptoms of concussion requiring an 11-day stand down”.
Ghabar: “Where in this report do you detail the symptoms that led you to that conclusion.”
NRL judiciary chair Geoffrey Bellew said Morgan had answered that question.
6.59pm Collins also needed another Roosters player to help him balance. Morgan said Collins would be required to stand down for a minimum 11 days due to the NRL’s HIA protocols. Collins had also undergone a SCAT 5 test, which forms part of the Roosters' clinical diagnosis.
6.54pm Roosters doctor Mathew Morgan said there was a blow to the left side of Collins’s jaw from Asofa-Solomona’s shoulder, resulting in Category 1 symptoms. Morgan said Collins playing the ball in the wrong direction was a clear sign of motor incoordination and disorientation.
6.50pm The incident has been shown to the hearing dozens of times from 10 different camera angles. NRL judiciary counsel Lachlan Gyles SC has called on Roosters doctor Mathew Morgan to give evidence.
6.46pm Video evidence shows Lindsay Collins receiving a pass from Roosters winger Daniel Tupou, who caught the ball from the kick-off. He is met in a tackle near his own line by Asofa-Solomona and Eli Katoa. As he gets to his feet, Collins attempts to play the ball facing his own goal line and stumbles.
6.43pm A medical report on Sydney Roosters prop Lindsay Collins, who was ruled out of the match after being deemed to show Category 1 HIA symptoms, is among the documents tendered to the hearing.
