If Canberra Raiders fullback Jack Wighton was forced to head to the judiciary to clear his name, then Cronulla Sharks hooker Michael Ennis should have been forced into a similar fight as well according to League Nation Live member Justin Hodges.
“That’s your classic shoulder charge,” Hodges told the program.
“They’re always the worst ones. You see there that Blake Green wasn’t expecting that hit”.
The Match Review committee slapped Wighton with a Grade Two charge, which with loading could have seen him miss as much as four weeks, ending his season.
Michael Ennis escaped charge for his shoulder charge on Blake Green. (AAP) Source: AAP
Meanwhile Michael Ennis was not charged, even though Hodges feels the Sharks hit was actually more dangerous.
“If you look at Jack Wighton’s hit, Joel Edwards made the break, so he knew what was coming.
“If you play the game, you know, it’s the one’s you don’t expect that often hurt, and that Ennis tackle could have been pretty bad,” said Hodges.
Wighton was able to fight the charge on Tuesday evening, with the NRL judiciary taking less than an hour to exonerate the Raiders fullback, freeing him to take his place against the Cronulla Sharks on Saturday.
Jack Wighton was charged with a grade-two shoulder charge by the NRL match review committee. (AAP) Source: AAP
Whilst it is another example of the match review committee seemingly having double standards, Hodges is pleased that the Indigenous All-Stars representative is now in the clear.
“It’s good to see him get off. Obviously common sense prevailed there and he gets to live out his dream and play his first finals appearance”.
