As Dylan Brown, the Parramatta Eels halfback, has a grade-two contrary contact charge. This follows a separate incident in which referee Gerard Sutton was struck during the Monday Night battle with Canterbury. The foul charge came as Brown crowded Sutton after trying to jump up to block a kick. Brown was clearly playing the ball when the collision occurred. Unfortunately, this extreme focus resulted in an unfortunate run-in with the fence official.
During the play, Brown accidentally shoved his hands into Sutton’s lower back, an action the ref did not expect to see. As a result of this incident, the player now faces all the undesirable ramifications. Until now, however, they had escaped without blemish on their collective resume with the match review committee and hadn’t accrued a single citation in the past three seasons.
Consequences of the Charge
After admitting the offence, Brown will serve a one-game ban in round 16. Parramatta’s next match against the Gold Coast Titans will see this ban come into effect. The Eels have a bye this week. Unfortunately for them, they’ll be without one of their most important players as they head into the battle against Toronto with him on Thursday.
Mitch Moses, Brown’s teammate, took his anger to Twitter about the eventual decision from the match review committee. He called out the fact that having his ability to field a vital player over such a minor incident seems ridiculously unfair.
“There’s not a bad bone in him.” – Mitch Moses
Frustration with the Judiciary
Moses was unblinking in expressing his displeasure over loss of faith from the judiciary’s continued treatment of the situation. He challenged the logic of those penalties. After all, that was Brown’s only crime—going up to play the ball in an instant classic of a game.
“I just don’t understand where that mindset comes from, and we lose one of our best players because of it? Because he’s competing on a play? It just doesn’t make sense.” – Mitch Moses
He commented on the larger trend given the recent rulings from the courts.
“The judiciary is probably just making up their own charges at the moment. It’s all over the shop.” – Mitch Moses
Recent Context in NRL Suspensions
Brown’s case is part of a growing trend of intolerant measures by NRL officials on player behaviour towards referees. Earlier in 2024, Jahrome Hughes shoved a match official and was handed a one-game suspension. This bold move really does emphasize the league’s deep commitment towards protecting officiating staff during games.
As the Eels now turn their focus to their next game, they will need to consider plans to adjust without Brown. The team’s ability to adapt will be crucial as they face off against the Titans, aiming to continue their campaign despite this setback.
