Toby Couchman

Dragons forward facing suspension, five others charged

The MRC handed down six charges from Sunday’s games.

Published by
Scott Pryde

St George Illawarra Dragons forward Toby Couchman is the latest player facing a stint on the sidelines after being slapped with a Grade 2 crusher tackle charge during the club's heavy loss to the Penrith Panthers in Wollongong on Sunday afternoon.

2024-07-28T04:00:00Z
WIN Stadium
STI
10
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46
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Crowd: 18,988

The incident, which came in the first half shortly before halftime, appeared to see the young Dragon place unneeded pressure on the head and neck of Penrith forward Mavrik Geyer as he made a run down the left-hand side of the park.

Couchman's clean record stops the suspension from blowing out, however, even an early guilty plea will see him banned for two weeks, while he would risk a third week by heading to the judiciary.

Five other players were also charged from Sunday's games, with two of them coming from the Dragons' loss to Penrith.

Queensland Maroons' State of Origin player Jaydn Su'a was hit with a Grade 1 careless high tackle offence, while Izack Tago was hit with a Grade 1 dangerous contact charge. Both players already have an offence on their records, so will pay $1800 with an early guilty plea, or $2500 if they fight and lose at the judiciary.

Intriguingly, Mat Feagai, who was placed on report for high contact on Daine Laurie, avoided a charge, as did Dragons' second-rower Raymond Faitala-Mariner for an alleged hip drop early in the game.

The Gold Coast Titans were also swearing on a charge against Erin Clark during their clash against the Dolphins, however, the match review committee have returned a Grade 1 charge for an offence against Mark Nicholls.

It will see him - with a three-year incident-free discount - pay just $750 with an early guilty plea, or $1000 if he loses at the judiciary.

Two charges were also dropped from the later game as the Raiders picked up a win over the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the Nation's capital.

Matthew Timoko was hit with a Grade 1 shoulder charge offence on Jacob Host, while Taane Milne was slapped with a Grade 1 careless high tackle for a shot on Xavier Savage.

Timoko will pay $1500 with an early guilty plea, or $2000 if he fights and loses, while Milne will pay either $1800 or $2500.

All six players have until midday (AEST) on Tuesday to determine their pleas.

Published by
Scott Pryde