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Another round and another controversial tackle has left the NRL world confused over how it was officiated.
Cowboys enforcer Coen Hess was sin-binned for a shoulder to the head tackle on Rabbitohs centre Campbell Graham on Saturday night.
However, Hess appeared to concuss himself in the tackle while Graham wasn’t even sent for an HIA – yet the former was binned for his troubles.
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Graham left the field as Souths took advantage of a free interchange due to foul play, but he returned to the game minutes later.
The incident left NRL greats Corey Parker and Cooper Cronk perplexed when discussing the tackle on Fox League.
“We play a highly physical contact sport and we don’t condone any violence – Coen Hess there is actually concussed,” Parker said.
“So there has been some sort of head contact, now both players leave the field. Coen Hess is concussed and he gets 10 in the bin.
“Campbell Graham was going for what we all thought was an HIA, (but then) returned to the field five minutes later which would suggest there is no contact towards Campbell Graham because he was ok.
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“When something big happens in our game, we feel the need that we have to react and react straight away.
“Last night, (Roosters forward) Jared Waerea-Hargreaves had big contact, a big collision (with Storm forward Nelson Asofa-Solomona), two big men going at it but somehow we can’t have it and someone had to go and sit down.
“Cohen Hess had contact with the head, knocked himself out, 10 in the bin. Campbell Graham was ok and comes back onto the field. Very, very strange.
“We just seem to be really reactive that when something big happens that we go holy, but it’s the sport that we love, we’re coming into the big money rounds, we’re coming into semi-finals.”
Cronk emphasised the responsibility must be put on the defender to avoid head contact, but admitted he was confused by the Hess binning.
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“When I saw it I thought ok Cohen Hess is in trouble, there must have been contact with the head in some fashion,” he said.
“If you freeze it, there probably is shoulder contact to the Campbell Graham, so at first I was like ‘ok no worries I understand this’ but then when Campbell Graham doesn’t have a HIA assessment, doesn’t have any protocols, leaves the field and comes back on just because it’s a foul play replacement, I think that’s a little strange. That’s a little grey area for me that needs to be cleaned up.”
“Surely someone in our game can make a decision and say that is not right. It didn’t look right, it didn’t feel right and everyone sitting there watching goes hang on what just happened, he just left the field for an HIA but he’s back on because it wasn’t an HIA but one is 10 in the bin,” Parker responded.
“There’s a loophole there because the decision is made straight away (for Hess) but the referee or the bunker aren’t determining whether that’s a HIA assessment going for Campbell Graham or not, that is a loophole that needs to be ironed out,” Cronk said.
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