NRL News: Sharks face hefty fine over trainer spooking goalkicker, Arthur adamant Eels won’t crater without Moses
Cronulla could cop a heavy fine after one of their trainers appeared to put Jamal Fogarty off as he attempted a crucial kick for goal in Sunday’s clash at Shark Park.
Former NRL player Daniel Holdsworth ran near Fogarty in his line of sight as the Raiders halfback tried to convert a James Schiller try in the 72nd minute of the contest.
Canberra trailed 30-22 at the time and if Fogarty had landed the sideline conversion, it would have made it a six-point margin heading into the final stages.
Holdsworth trotted past Fogarty as he moved in to kick the ball and the attempt hit the upright and bounced away. Cronulla went on to win 36-22 but according to a Sydney Morning Herald report, the Raiders intend to take the matter up with the NRL by lodging a formal complaint.
Clubs have been fined $5000 for such actions in the past but Sharks legend Paul Gallen on 100% Footy was adamant Holdsworth should not have a case to answer because “he’s not in the field of play”.
“Fogarty is looking at nothing but the ball,” he argued.
Arthur confident rookie up to halves task
Parramatta coach Brad Arthur is confident Blaize Talagi is up to the task of replacing Mitch Moses despite the Eels’ loss to Wests Tigers in his first game starting in the halves.
Wearing the five-eighth jersey, Talagi marshalled Moses’ right edge on Easter Monday after the Eels’ creative architect was diagnosed with a foot fracture last week. The teenager had some strong moments in only his second first-grade game.
Talagi notably put Clint Gutherson through a hole to give Parramatta a shot at Wests Tigers’ line in their first set of the day. He looked dangerous with the ball thereafter, though Dylan Brown and later Gutherson took on the bulk of Moses’ usual kicking workload.
High-school classmate and rival half Lachie Galvin beat Talagi on a line break that led to Jahream Bula’s try, hoisting the Tigers back into the contest. After that an Aidan Sezer field goal iced the TIgers’ 17-16 win in the dying minutes.
In all, Arthur was pleased with Talagi’s first hit-out as the Eels face the possibility of missing Moses for as many as seven more weeks.
“He’s a young kid, he’s learning,” Arthur said. “We’ve always said that. He’s played two games. He’ll be fine.”
Known for his running game, Brown also threatened to breach the Tigers’ defence throughout the clash at CommBank Stadium.
Arthur would not put the loss on his new-look halves combination. “We can’t be blaming them,” he said.
“It’s a team effort right across the whole field. We had enough ball, we had enough opportunities, we just didn’t ice our plays.”
Arthur said the Eels’ attitude towards the game, not Moses’ absence, had cost them. Parramatta conceded two tries in five minutes midway through the second half as the Tigers stormed back into the contest.
For their part, the Eels had 29 play-the-balls in the red zone during the first half alone, but could not make the weight of possession count. “I think if your mindset is a little bit different, then execution probably sticks,” Arthur said.
“The last couple of weeks, even our loss to Penrith, we’ve played tough and we’ve rolled our sleeves up. But I think we were chasing a soft win.”
with AAP