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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Wests Tigers winger Luke Laulilli has been hit with a one-match ban for a mid-air tackle that ended Parramatta rival Bailey Simonsson\u2019s season.<\/p>\n Tigers coach Benji Marshall and teammates said Laulilli did not deserve to be binned for his effort on Simonsson as the pair contested the ball approaching the hour mark during Monday\u2019s golden-point epic, which the Tigers won\u00a022-20<\/a>.<\/p>\n Simonsson dislocated his ankle, was taken from the field on the back of a medicab, then rushed to hospital.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t agree with it, it\u2019s as simple as that,\u201d Marshall said of the sin-binning.<\/p>\n \u201cIf he [Simonsson] didn\u2019t get injured, would it have been the same result?\u201d<\/p>\n Tigers flyer Sunia Turuva said of the incident: \u201cI didn\u2019t think there was too much in it, to be honest. They both went up to compete, and they clashed in the air. Luke saw him catch the ball and put his arm out. I would have done the same thing. It was unfortunate. I can only hope for Bailey Simonsson, it isn\u2019t too bad.\u201d<\/p>\n The match review committee issued a grade-two dangerous contact charge late Monday, which means Lualilli, 19, will miss Sunday\u2019s second-versus-third clash against Newcastle at Campbelltown Sports Stadium.<\/p>\n The punishment will come as little comfort for the Eels who have now lost Simonsson, Isaiah Iongi (ankle) for eight weeks and J\u2019maine Hopgood<\/a> (knee) for the season in three consecutive weeks as a result of foul play.<\/p>\n Lualilii, Penrith\u2019s Mitch Kenny and St George Illawarra\u2019s Ryan Couchman<\/a>, the three players charged with the respective offences, will miss a combined six weeks.<\/p>\n Parramatta coach Jason Ryles said none of the tackles were intentional, \u201cbut there\u2019s a reason those actions are outlawed, [and it is] because of what we\u2019re going through now\u201d.<\/p>\n Eels CEO Jim Sarantinos spoke to this masthead last week about the idea of clubs being granted salary-cap dispensation<\/a> if players were sidelined for a lengthy amount of time as a result of foul play.<\/p>\n Ryles had already asked club officials to ask the NRL if that was even an option, and said, \u201csurely it would be something worth considering [if it is] foul play, a season-ending injury; I think common sense would prevail.\u201d<\/p>\n Simonsson posted a photo of himself in hospital late Monday with the caption: \u201cMan highs and lows of footy. Nothing I haven\u2019t faced before. I\u2019ll be back better than before, in for surgery tonight and back on the mend tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Bailey](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/a9b5f8ee5d83da0118c187bbb242df636bd8ae14.jpeg\")
Bailey Simonsson is taken from the field after suffering a sickening ankle injury.Getty Images<\/p>\n
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