SmokeyTA wrote:
Why are the RFL thinking that a shoulder charge that hits the shoulder then fractures a cheekbone is any more acceptable than one which directly hits the head and fractures a cheekbone.
This is a systemic issue and McManus, along with Hetherington and a few others before him, are right to bring it up. The way referees are handled and the disciplinary process itself has become an exercise in PR rather than a good process.
Offenses and their grading have become an opportunity for wiggle room and not an attempt at consistency and this offence is a good example of it.
Rather than asking what did Green do and how many matches does it deserve, they ask where can we introduce uncertainty to protect the referee.
Green had to go. It should have been a simple decision. He should have got a few matches and it should have been a simple decision.
So that's a strong case for reviewing the current grading system. However, within the system as it currently stands the punishment was correct.
