Stefano Utoikamanu has avoided a sanction from the NRL's match review committee after being placed on report for a raised forearm during Saturday evening's loss against the New Zealand Warriors.
Utoikamanu, despite not being sin-binned, faced a nervous wait for the MRC's verdict after he gave away a penalty in the incident, where his forearm made contact with the neck of Wayde Egan.
The New Zealand Warriors' hooker was sent to hospital as a precaution after the tackle.
It left Tigers' coach Tim Sheens seeing red immediately after the game given his own club captain Apisai Koroisau had his jaw broken in an incident with Titans' captain Tino Fa'asuamaleaui earlier this season.
โ(Utoikamanu) better not (be cited) after what happened with Api,โ Sheens said in the post-match press conference.
โHe didn't hit him in the head at all. He's gone and had some problems with his breathing.
โAll of a sudden it is a penalty, I can't see why it is a penalty.
โThere was no penalty and there was no suspension when it happened to Api. Why is this now a problem?โ
The Match Review Committee did hand out five other charges from Saturday's action though, with Rabbitohs duo Damien Cook and Lachlan Ilias, Tigers forward Alex Seyfarth, Warriors' back Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Dolphins forward Ray Stone all facing fines.
Stone will pay the largest amount of the five players, with the middle forward cited for a high tackle on Drew Hutchison that saw him sent to the sin bin shortly after halftime.
The tackle has been graded as a Grade 1 careless high tackle and, given he has three offences on his rolling 12-month record at the NRL judiciary, he will have to pay $3000 with an early guilty plea. If he heads to the judiciary, he will risk a two-match ban.
Like Sheens, Dolphins' coach Wayne Bennett disagreed with the decision against his forward.
โThat's one of those things that happens in the game and you put it on report and go from there... but I think it was way over the top," Bennett said.
โLook at the impact it has on the game, it has a huge impact on the game. Look at the games over the weekend, a few guys have got hit high but they stay on the field.
โThey haven't got it right, it is as simple as that... they haven't got it right.โ
Cook has been hit with a Grade 1 charge for a dangerous throw on Blake Lawrie and, with a three-year incident-free record, will pay $750 with an early guilty plea or $1000 with a lost fight at the judiciary, while Ilias will pay $1000 or $1500 for a Grade 1 tripping offence on Mathew Feagai.
Seyfarth has been charged with a Grade 1 careless high tackle for a shot on Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and will also be eligible for a discount through his three-year incident-free record, paying either $750 or $1000.
Watene-Zelezniak meanwhile has been charged with a Grade 1 dangerous contact offence on John Bateman and will pay either $1000 or $1500.
All five players have until midday (AEST) on Monday to decide whether to accept early guilty pleas or head to the judiciary.
