The Canterbury Bulldogs and Melbourne Storm have avoided being out with any players due to suspension, with only one player facing a fine from last night’s match to kick off the 2025 NRL Finals.
Although there were a few dangerous tackles during the contest, which included a hip drop and a high shot, Josh Curran was the only player to be charged by the match review committee (MRC).
Facing a $1800-2500 fine, Curran has been charged with Grade 1 Careless High Tackle for an incident on opposing centre Jack Howarth.
This comes after Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy believed that Jaeman Salmon should have been placed on report for a hip-drop tackle on Cameron Munster, but instead, he avoided being placed on report.
“The one thing I noticed today, it might have been slow play-the-balls, it might not have been. But it seems as though the league has come (to) a different opinion of hip drops now,” Bellamy said post-match.
“I don’t think any player goes out there to drop their hip on the back of someone’s legs, but in the past we’ve had players at other clubs be suspended for that.
“All of a sudden, now it seems to be an accident. That’s what I took out of the game.”