The NRL judiciary handed out four verdicts on Tuesday night with varying levels of punishment.
Souths star Latrell Mitchell was delivered a four-week ban, Bulldogs enforcer Jack Hetherington was handed five weeks, Panthers centre Paul Momirovski was given three weeks, while Sydney Roosters lock Victor Radley had his ban thrown out it after it was downgraded.
While no incident was the exact same, the lack of consistency with the rulings has caused confusion in rugby league circles and Andrew Voss feels the system is turning into “Russian roulette”.
“I am so confused,” Voss said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“It really has been Russian roulette in punishments this year.
“Going back to the Brent Naden case, which has nothing to do with the NRL judiciary. But the NRL governed the game, and Brent Naden wasn’t going to miss a game for taking cocaine the night before the Grand Final.
“But let’s get to matters on field and compare how we’ve dealt with things.
“The Felise Kaufusi case and the forearm on the face of Ryan Matterson, found guilty, that was a two-game ban.
“Not that I believe injuries should be pinned to length of bans, but for the record Matterson hasn’t played since.
“Jack Hetherington sent off in game on Sunday, a five-game ban.
“Paul Momirovski got a three-game ban last night for the tackle versus the Broncos on Thursday night.
“Victor Radley was sin-binned for his tackle against Melbourne, but now with a downgrade will serve no time on the sideline.
“Latrell Mitchell for an incident that the bunker and referee took no action on but to put him on report, he’s now sidelined for four games.
“For as long as I’ve been covering the game we have had controversy surrounding suspensions, and I do go a fair way back.
“When we didn’t have as many angles to explore, and I’ve sat in on hearings when we had one camera angle, one high angle was all you had to watch the tackle.
“The referee and touch judges would have to give evidence.
“We’re so far removed from those days, but we still can’t come close to a system that’s even perceived to be consistent and fair.
“I don’t have all the answers, you can’t unscramble an egg.
“But at the very least, going forward, let’s drop all loading and no discounts on early guilty pleas.
“If a club or a player is unhappy with their charge, then they can challenge it and present their case.
“A downgrade is an admission from our system that the people who govern the system can’t do their job right.
“How can they get so much wrong? It’s all they have to do.
“Our four levels of governance – referees, the bunker, the match review committee and the judiciary – are all on different pages.
“We have a problem with the way we dish out punishment. We are as far away as we’ve ever been in delivering anything close to consistency in the eyes of fans.”
Listen to the full verdict below.
Photo: NRL Images