England have revealed that Dom Young suffered a broken foot in a controversial incident with Reece Walsh, sparking fresh questions as to whether Walsh should have been suspended. The Kangaroos fullback was sin-binned for collecting Young in the head with his shoulder during the second Ashes Test between Australia and England.
Walsh arrived very late to a contest for a bomb, and jumped towards Young well after the ball was gone. The Broncos fullback made no attempt to wrap his arms and hit Young in the head with his shoulder.
Dom Young suffered a broken foot in the controversial collision with Reece Walsh. Image: Getty
Many though Walsh should have been suspended for at least one game, but the international match review committee deemed the sin-binning to be sufficient enough punishment. Bizarrely, the panel didn’t even charge Walsh or hit him with a monetary fine.
The star fullback’s escape left the majority of fans furious, after he avoided suspension for the third time in the last seven weeks. And the situation took an interesting twist on Thursday night when it was revealed Young suffered a fractured foot in the collision.
Reece Walsh arrived very late and hit Dom Young in the head with his shoulder. Image: Sky Sports
The Newcastle Knights winger had to be assisted from the field after being collected by Walsh. He’s been ruled out of the third and final Ashes Test and replaced by former South Sydney and Roosters player Joe Burgess.
It’s led to questions about whether Walsh would have been banned had the match review panel known about the extent of Young’s injury. There was no malice from Walsh, but his hit was very late and caused significant damage after it knocked Young off his course. In a poll of over 1000 Yahoo readers, 65 per cent said they believe Walsh should have been banned.
Joe Burgess to play first Test in 10 years
England coach Shaun Wane initially reported that Young should be fit for the third Test, but revealed on Thursday as he unveiled his England team: “Dom Young has a broken bone, so he’s out and in a boot.” The 31-year-old Burgess played a huge part in Super League champions Hull KR’s treble-winning season, and will be playing his first Test for a decade. “I’m looking forward to seeing Joe Burgess, he’s earned it,” said Wane.
Meanwhile, Harry Newman comes in for Wigan centre Jake Wardle, who’s battling an injury. And fellow Leeds Rhinos players Kallum Watkins and Mikolaj Oledzki have retained their places to feature in front of their home crowd at Headingley.
North Queensland forward John Bateman is out again with an ankle injury after missing the second Test. It means the NRL contingent for England will be fullback AJ Brimson, centre Herbie Farnworth, second-rower Kai Pearce-Paul and front-rower Morgan Smithies. Morgan Knowles has also retained his spot ahead of a move from St Helens to the Dolphins next season.
RELATED:
England desperate to avoid 3-0 Ashes whitewash
Wane and the English team are determined to avoid a 3-0 drubbing after losing 26-6 and 14-4 in the first two games. “We’re just obsessed about making sure it’s not 3-0 this week,” said Wane.
“We don’t want to be the team that lost a Test series 3-0. There’s a lot of pride in it. We did a lot of good things last week but ultimately, we need to be even better if we want to get a win this weekend.”
Kevin Walters has resisted calls to give his reserve players a game in the dead rubber, instead naming his strongest 17. Captain Isaah Yeo returns in place of Panthers teammate Lindsay Smith after missing the second Test with concussion.
with AAP