Victor Radley is free to play in next week’s NRL Grand Final after the Roosters forward avoided a suspension for his tackle on Dolphins centre Herbie Farnworth.
Radley was placed on report during Friday night’s victory, but the match review committee issued a grade-one dangerous-contact charge. He will receive a $3,000 fine if he accepts the early guilty plea.
Challenging the charge and losing at the judiciary would result in a two-match suspension. However, Radley is not expected to contest it given it is his third or subsequent charge.
Roosters coach Trent Robinson backed the lock forward immediately after the match, saying he did not believe the tackle would cause a problem.
“No I don’t (think he has a problem) because he went to his knees before there was weight on that. That’s how I saw it,” Robinson said.
“So there wasn’t any force on that, so I’d say he’ll be right on that.”
Radley played a central role in the Roosters’ win, scoring a try, creating another and making several heavy tackles as his side dominated the middle of the field.
Connor Watson’s grand-final hopes remain uncertain
The Roosters still face uncertainty over Connor Watson, who was forced from the field after only a minute because of a head knock.
Watson was initially assessed as category two, but an independent doctor subsequently changed the ruling to category one. That normally carries a mandatory 11-day stand-down.
Clubs can challenge a category-one decision if the player has no history of concussions and can show that the original assessment was incorrect. Watson was undergoing further tests after being ruled out of the match.
“That was a hard one because it came out as a category two,” Robinson said.
“And then he went in to do it (the head injury assessment) and they changed it to a category one after a couple of minutes.”
“He’s in the middle of doing his tests now to see where he’s at because he got ruled out of the game, so I’d say it’s still a case of watch this space with Connor.”
