There was a lot of confusion on Sunday night after Murray Taulagi was not reported despite leaving Cameron Murray bleeding after a high shot.
The incident in question came early in the first half, with Tualagi grabbing Murray high as he went to deal with the Blues ’blockade.
“This is interesting because we say that if Murray can’t come back here, if this material is placed in the report, we may have an activation of the 18th man.” Channel 9 Mathew Thompson said in a comment.
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Murray came out of contact with blood running from his ear and later referee Ashley Klein asked him to leave the field for an assessment of the head injury.
Despite this, Tualagi was not reported, meaning the Blues would not have been able to activate their 18th man if Murray had not been able to return.
Fortunately for NSW, the blocking striker was in a position to return to the field shortly after passing his test, although the decision not to put Taulagi as a report still left some confused.
The party review committee could still charge Taulagai, although the fact that it was not placed in the report suggests that the referees did not see it as worthy of further action.