Melbourne Storm star five-eighth Cameron Munster has leapt to the defence of South Sydney Rabbitohs fullback Latrell Mitchell over an ugly high shot during the second half of Friday's Anzac Day game.
Mitchell, aiming to stop a line break from Melbourne outside back Sua Fa'alogo, was sin binned for a high and late shot that has since been charged with a Grade 2 dangerous contact charge by the NRL's match review committe that will be met with a one-game ban for an early guilty plea, and two if Mitchell heads to the judiciary and loses the challenge.
The ten-minute sin bin period didn't cost South Sydney any points, but did end Fa'alogo's night, with the outside back suffering a concussion.
Munster however said he wasn't sure where Mitchell was supposed to go, and suggested that he made an effort to lower his level heading into the tackle.
"It's a contact sport, and at the end of the day, I know we are trying to protect a lot of players with the head knocks, but it's very hard to determine how hard it is. It's slippery out there, it's wet, force on force. Sua is very quick, Latrell is very big. I don't know where you want Latrell to go there," Munster said during the post-match press conference.
"Sua is obviously engaging him to try and pass, and he slipped over so I feel like sometimes it's hard to get yourselves out of those positions. There are always grey areas, and it's a contact sport. There is going to be contact, and sometimes blokes aren't going to get it right.
"Ideally, there wasn't a whole heap of malice by the looks of it, and I'm sure he has nothing to worry about, but I know where the game is trying to go in protecting a lot of players. As long as we keep it consistent around the game, I don't have a problem with it at all. I know it didn't look good, but I don't know where you want him to go there."
It was a version of events Ben Hornby - standing in at the Rabbitohs press conference for Wayne Bennett - agreed with, although he didn't have a heap to say on the matter.
"I honestly didn't get a real good look at it. It looked like he [Fa'alogo] lowered his level a fair bit, and Latrell tried to lower his level," Hornby said.
"At the end of the day, we have nothing more to say on it because it's going to be dealt with in the judiciary and that'll be that.
"I thought he was falling and Latrell tried to lower his level. When you're watching it in slow mo, it's a lot worse than it is in split second stuff."
