SKIP TO MAIN CONTENT

Sam Burgess charged, George escapes ban

South Sydney's Sam Burgess faces two NRL matches on the sideline for a shoulder charge, regardless of whether he accepts an early guilty plea.

Sam Burgess
South Sydney's Sam Burgess faces two NRL matches on the sideline for a shoulder charge. (AAP)

2 min read

Published

Source: AAP


Skip to article content

South Sydney's Sam Burgess is facing two matches on the NRL sidelines for a shoulder charge, however, his brother George has escaped sanction for what appeared to be an elbow on Aiden Tolman.

Rabbitohs captain Sam has been charged with a grade one shoulder charge by the match review committee for his hit on Greg Eastwood in the Good Friday loss to Canterbury.

The English hardman is being made to pay for his poor record with two non-similar charges over the last two years counting against him, with 40 per cent loading added to his penalty.

Unless Burgess can successfully defend the charge at the judiciary, he will be rubbed out of Souths' next two clashes, against Brisbane and Manly.

Interestingly, Burgess himself admitted he had a case to answer, telling reporters that he was guilt of a shoulder charge.

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Meanwhile, George was not cited by the MRC after he appeared to throw a forearm or elbow at Tolman after taking offence to something in the tackle late in the game.

Burgess struck out with his arm, however, appears to have been saved from a lengthy suspension after Tolman came to his defence post-match.

"There's not much in it. You can't punch anyone so you've got to do something else," Tolman said.

Asked if Burgess connected, Tolman said: "I don't know. To be honest, I didn't feel anything.

"He's a big man. If he did connect, I probably would have been lying on the ground."

George Burgess only returned to the NRL last week after serving a two-match ban for striking Newcastle's Mitchell Barnett with an elbow.


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world