Broncos star Patrick Carrigan has been handed a four-game suspension for his hip tackle on Jackson Hastings.
Carrigan led the judicial panel Tuesday night with high-profile attorney Nick Ghabar.
Ghabar argued that a two-game suspension would be enough for Carrigan, explaining that the other two Broncos players involved in the tackle had a hand in the tackle going wrong.
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However, the NRL’s lawyer suggested a suspension of five to six weeks.
Carrigan was referred directly to the judiciary over the clash which occurred in the Broncos’ shock loss to the Tigers last week.
Hastings will undergo ankle surgery and miss the rest of the season as a result of the inning.
Carrigan hip drop injures Hastings | 01:01
Carrigan’s defense referred to a hip tackle on Josh McGuire from Round 10 in 2021, where the Dragons enforcer faced a five-week ban.
“What the player McGuire did himself in that tackle compared to what the player Carrigan did in the case before you is on a higher level. They’re not even in the same ballpark,” he said, per NRL.com.
“He’s careless, but not reckless.”
Ghabar argued that McGuire’s tackle was “much more sloppy and much more reckless” than Carrigan’s, per Fox League’s Jake Duke.
“That was, with respect, at least reckless and intentionally borderline,” Ghabar said.
“It was precisely what Mr (Graham) Annesley talks about in his memorandum – all the weight of the McGuire player was on the lower leg.”
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Ghabar pointed out three differences in the tackles: McGuire landed directly on Josh Addo-Carr’s foot, while Carrigan’s weight fell to the ground; there was more force in McGuire’s tackle and fellow Dragon Andrew McCullough pulled Addo-Carr forward and sideways, allowing McGuire to clear the tackle, while Carrigan’s teammates contributed negatively to the tackle .
“There was a very serious risk of injury in this conduct. It was indeed fortuitous, if not miraculous. This player Addo-Carr was not injured given the level of force that was applied,” he said of the tackle by McGuire.
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Cleary accepts five-game ban | 00:45
However, NRL lawyer Patrick Knowles wanted a much longer suspension.
He referred Hastings’ injury and how he sees the five months on the sidelines.
But he pointed out that he was not looking for an “eye for an eye”, in terms of the length of the punishment.
The panel consisted of former player Dallas Johnson and former player and referee Henry Perenara, as well as the chairman of the judiciary, Mr Justice Geoff Bellew.
The four-game ban means Carrigan will return for the Broncos’ final game of the season against the Dragons and, more importantly, be available for the final.