Thomas Burgess

Rabbitohs reportedly under investigation for interchange bungle

The NRL will ask for a please explain from the club.

Published by
Scott Pryde

The South Sydney Rabbitohs are reportedly under investigation by the NRL for briefly having 14 players on the ground against the Brisbane Broncos during a thumping 32 points to 6 win on Friday evening.

The interchange issue came during the second half, with South Sydney said to have replaced Thomas Burgess with Jai Arrow at the 52:12 minute mark of the game.

However, according to The Daily Telegraph and screengrabs sourced off the Fox Sports broadcast of the game, both players were seen on the ground at the same time.

The Rabbitohs were in the process of making two interchanges in quick succession, with Davvy Moale replacing Tevita Tatola just six seconds earlier.

Zero Tackle have sourced the footage from the broadcast and it can be confirmed that Moale had also come onto the field before Burgess departed, meaning there is no error in the NRL's official play by play recount of which player replaced which.

Burgess took a run over the halfway line as Arrow came into the TV shot before jogging to the sideline. Arrow can be seen whipping his head around in surprise as he watches Burgess jogging off the ground in front of him, before taking a run himself two plays later.

The report suggests the Rabbitohs had a 14th player on the field for about 15 seconds while they were in attack, which is consistent with the footage viewed on Saturday morning, although it made no impact on the state of play, and there is no suggestion the Rabbitohs will lose their two competition points from the victory.

Both Burgess and arrow were strong for the Redfern-based outfit in the victory, with the Englishman running for 188 metres from 18 runs, while Arrow added 129 from 13.

Published by
Scott Pryde