Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Newcastle hooker Phoenix Crossland has been referred straight to the NRL judiciary after being sent off for the hip-drop tackle that resulted in a broken ankle for Penrith star Nathan Cleary on Sunday.
The match review committee’s decision not to attach a grading to the incident indicates the Knights dummy-half faces a lengthy suspension.
That would rule him out of Sunday’s grand final and the start of next season.
Cleary was taken to hospital by ambulance from Accor Stadium after his ankle was broken in the tackle in the first half of the preliminary final.
The Knights defeated the Panthers 22-14 to book an unlikely place in the decider against the Sydney Roosters.
Cleary started from the bench in the grand final qualifier after sustaining a foot injury in the Panthers’ previous finals game a fortnight earlier.
His father and Penrith coach Ivan Cleary revealed after Sunday’s defeat that the halfback had carried a broken right foot into Sunday’s game, and he would need surgery on that as well as for the compound fracture on his left leg.
The competition’s best player was escorted from the field on a medicab while being administered pain relief in a shattering end to his season.
For Crossland, the tackle also stands to have significant ramifications, almost certainly costing him a spot in a grand final after Newcastle’s fairytale finals run.
The 26-year-old has been outstanding for Justin Holbrook’s team this season, particularly in defence.
Harrison Graham, who has played most of the season off the bench, appears best placed to be handed the No.9 jumper in Crossland’s absence.
The 25-year-old joined Newcastle this year from the Dolphins.
More to come
Chris Barrett is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former South-East Asia correspondent for the Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.
