‘Was it that bad?’ Great’s wild call on Cleary tackle as hefty ban to impact World Cup... and beyond

The punishment handed to Knights hooker Phoenix Crossland following his nasty hip drop tackle on Nathan Cleary continues to be debated.

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Crossland was sent off in Sunday’s preliminary final win over Penrith after a hip drop tackle resulted in a nasty compound fracture to the champion halfback.

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Most agreed with the sending off but a number of former players, including Nathan Hindmarsh and Eric Grothe Jnr, argued it was an accident and was only worth a sin bin.

Speaking on NRL 360 on Monday night, journalist Dean Ritchie said those against the send-off were missing an important point.

“People say there’s no intent, nor wasn’t the tackle malicious. It does not matter,” Ritchie said.

“The incident has happened. No-one goes out there to be malicious. No-one goes out there with intent, it doesn’t matter. People can’t seem to get it through their heads, it does not matter. He’s committed the crime, he has to be punished.

“He should have been dismissed. Those injuries should not happen in our game.

“I think it’s a dinosaur, head-in-the-sand, approach to say ‘that’s rugby league, that’s what happens in rugby league’. We’ve got to stamp this tackle out. It’s clearly dangerous.”

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Former Australian Test captain Gorden Tallis highlighted the inconsistencies in judging if a hip drop is worth a send-off.

Mitch Kenny spent months on the sidelines with a fractured fibula and syndesmosis injury after a Kodi Nikorima hip drop in a Round 7 match against the Dolphins.

The fact Kenny walked off the field meant Nikorima escaped a harsh punishment on the night before he was eventually suspended for two games.

Tallis also understood why some of his former peers argued against the sending off.

“Was the incident that vicious? Was the incident that bad? The injury’s horrible,” Tallis said.

“There are some accidents in our game that just happen. And that’s a mishap. I feel a little bit sorry for Phoenix.”

Fellow ex-Australian Test player Braith Anasta initially didn’t think it was a send-off but understood that the injury to Cleary needed to play a part in the Bunker decision to remove Crossland from the game.

“We’re trying to eradicate this out of the game. He snapped his leg in half,” Anasta said.

“Worst case scenario, this could impact his career moving forward and his longevity in our game.

“I think it is a send-off, and I think as unfortunate as it is to Phoenix, and I feel horrible for him, I think everyone does because it wasn’t intentional, but it was bad.”

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“I think it was pretty obvious that in that situation, he had to be sent off,” journalist Brent Read added.

“The fact is Nathan Cleary is in a hospital bed right now because of that tackle. There’s got to be a price to pay for that.”

Crossland has been referred straight to the judiciary and Read said he could forget about playing in the grand final on Sunday and possibly for New Zealand next month.

“It’s pretty obvious he’s going to get found guilty, I’d imagine and he’ll probably get rubbed out of the World Cup and maybe the start of next season,” Read said.

“I would have thought four to five weeks minimum if it’s a referred charge.

“The outcome matters. If a guy breaks his leg it is different to a guy getting up and playing on.