League legend Ben Elias has criticised the NRL judiciary’s decision to rule out Panthers back-rower Viliame Kikau from club's preliminary final next weekend.
The Penrith star was found guilty of a dangerous throw which led to a one-match suspension, where Kikau will now miss the Panthers first preliminary final since 2014.
The 25-year-old was found guilty for throwing Roosters enforcer Jared Waerea-Hargreaves into a dangerous position.
The decision was made in 15 minutes by judiciary panel members Ben Creagh, Sean Garlick and Dallas Johnson.
Speaking on NRL 360 on Wednesday night, Elias said the judiciary should use some “common sense” in the future.
“Absolutely ridiculous. Ridiculous, ridiculous. Unbelievable.” Elias said when asked about the Kikau verdict.
“This is a bloke who’s a superstar. The players deserve a little bit of leeway.
“This is the second biggest game of his career coming up and he’s going to miss it, and for what? It’s the spectators that are going to miss out.
“He’s the superstar, Penrith are on a roll, he’s a fantastic celebrity out west, and they’re not going to see him in the second-biggest game of the year.”
League great Geoff Toovey agreed, stating a fine would have been a suitable charge.
“I understand he could have been penalised, (received) a fine, but a whole game, a semi-finals match...” Toovey said on the program.
“I know we’ve got to take players’ safety into account ... but I agree with you Ben ... I don’t think that was a dangerous tackle"