Manly winger charged by NRL match review committee for collision with referee Grant Atkins
Men’s winger Lehi Hopoate has been charged by the NRL match committee for a collision with referee Grant Atkins in his side’s win over Wests Tigers on Saturday.
The 21-year-old crashed into the back of the tipster while chasing a Jamal Fogarty bomb in the first half of the Sea Eagles’ 46-18 win.
The contact caused Atkins to fall onto the Suncorp Stadium turf.
Reported by the umpire, Hopoate was booked on a second-degree disorderly conduct charge Sunday and will be suspended from the game with an early guilty plea.
If he appeals to the court and loses, he will be suspended for two matches.
Manly was considering whether to press for a downgrade, believing the contact with Atkins on Sunday was accidental.
Eyebrows were raised at the resurgent club during qualifying given Brisbane hooker Cory Paix escaped a tackle charge in which Manly forward Siosiua Taukeiaho suffered a broken leg a week ago.
The Sea Eagles requested that the ARL Commission use its special powers to overturn this decision, but their bid was unsuccessful.
Hopoate also included another incident that caught the attention of the match review committee.
Tigers’ center Patrick Herbert received a second-degree dangerous interference penalty for head-butting a winger in the 46th minute.
If he confesses his crime early, he will be suspended for two matches, and if his case goes to court, he will be suspended for three matches.
This is shaping up to be another defeat for the depleted Tigers, who are without their best players due to injury and suspension and have amassed 142 points in the last three weeks.
Herbert also faced a separate first-degree charge for his hooking tackle on Manly backrower Ben Trbojevic, but faced an $1800 fine in lieu of time on the sideline for that tackle.
Chris Barrett is senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Southeast Asia correspondent for the Herald and The Age newspapers.Connect with: X or email.
