Mikaele Ravalawa

Ravalawa hit by lengthy ban at NSWRL judiciary

He was referred directly for referee dissent.

Published by
Scott Pryde

The NSWRL judiciary have his St George Illawarra Dragons' winger Mikaele Ravalawa with a four-game suspension for referee dissent.

Ravalawa, who has been dropped out of the top grade in recent weeks, was sent off at the back-end of last weekend's NSW Cup game against the Penrith Panthers.

It was reported in the aftermath that he had sworn at a referee over a decision, with the winger then referred directly to the NSWRL judiciary for a hearing.

The Dragons have now confirmed Ravalawa has been hit by a four-match ban, with the 26-year-old to miss a month of rugby league over the incident.

It's believed Ravalawa had apologised to the match official in question directly after the game.

The suspension will see the Fijian flyer banned for four games - which takes into account NSW Cup games against the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles, New Zealand Warriors, South Sydney Rabbitohs and Sydney Roosters.

The two competitions match up on the count of rounds, meaning Ravalawa would be free to return in Round 19 of either the NSW Cup or NRL, pending on where he is selected at that point.

At NRL level, the Dragons have a bye in Round 16, meaning the first-grade side would only have to play three more games without Ravalawa if he was picked by coach Shane Flanagan to return at that point.

The Dragons play the Brisbane Broncos away from home in Round 19 without Origin players, while the NSW Cup side have a bye.

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There is no guarantee on that front though, with Ravalawa having already played a fortnight of reserve grade prior to the incident which has seen him suspended and failing to impress through those games.

Published by
Scott Pryde