Tim Sheens slams Newcastle for bringing in Tigers star Isaiah Papali’i to match review committee
Tim Sheens berates Newcastle for dobbing Tigers star Isaiah Papali’i at match review committee: ‘I don’t like that kind of rubbish’
- Isaiah Papali’i received a one-game suspension for a tackle on Jack Johns
- The Tigers star was initially dropped from the charge sheet by the NRL
- But he was charged and banned after the Knights contacted the NRL
Tim Sheens has criticized Newcastle for reporting Tigers star Isaiah Papali’i to the NRL’s Match Review Committee.
The former Eels cannon was left on the original charge sheet after the Knights won 14-12 at Leichhardt Oval last week.
Newcastle officials subsequently contacted the NRL and Papali’i was eventually banned for one match after committing a dangerous grade two contact attack for a hit on Knights aid Jack Johns.
Sheens was particularly unimpressed with the development, especially considering the Tigers will already be without second rower Tommy Talau for Sunday’s game against the Bulldogs.
Talau suffered a broken nose after being taken care of by Knights halfback Jackson Hastings, with the two having to be separated by a steward after the former Tigers playmaker attempted to apologize after the game.
Tim Sheens has lashed out at Newcastle for reporting Isaiah Papali’i to the NRL
The Tigers star has been handed a one-game suspension for a tackle on Jack Johns in last week’s 14-12 loss to Newcastle despite not initially being listed
“If what you said is correct and they went to the judging committee because of a particular tackle, I probably should have gone back and said, ‘Well, the boy is having surgery. He’s going to miss two weeks,'” Sheens said Saturday.
“I don’t like that kind of mess. But by saying that, I protect my players.’
Under NRL rules, the league has until 6pm Monday to re-examine the weekend’s charges following Sunday’s games.
The NRL initially published its first indictment shortly after 10 a.m. Monday, before releasing a second indictment named Papali’i less than three hours later.
However, Sheens admitted that Papali’i’s tackle was worthy of review by the Match Review Committee.
“It’s a bit disappointing, but at the end of the day the tackle looked a bit hip,” he said.
“I didn’t think it was second class, but that was the rating. We have to live with that and move forward.’
Meanwhile, according to News CorpTalau has since buried the hatchet with Hastings after reaching out to the Newcastle star on social media.
Talau was in no mood to accept Hasting’s apology on the pitch, but has since reached out to his former teammate to smooth things over.
Tempers flared between the Tigers and Knights after Jackson Hastings got hold of Tommy Talau with a brutal hit that left the Wests star with a broken nose
“It was a hot topic,” Hastings said last week.
“I was going to apologize, I didn’t realize during the game that I collected him high.
“I was just trying to do the right thing at the end of the game by going up to say sorry, in the heat of the moment he was still angry, which I really appreciate.
“Nobody wants to get hit on the head and they also ruled him out of the game so I’m sorry; there was no intent. I understand why he would be frustrated.’