Daly Cherry-Evans will face the NRL Judiciary on Tuesday night for the first time in his 14-year career with the Sea Eagles skipper hoping to downgrade a dangerous throw charge to escape suspension.
Cherry-Evans and Haumole Olakau’atu were hit with a grade two dangerous throw charge for a lifting tackle on Eels forward Shaun Lane, which comes with a two-game suspension.
The Sea Eagles confirmed on Monday that Olakau’atu had entered an early guilty plea on the charge and so will miss the next two games.
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Cherry-Evans has also submitted an early guilty plea — but will front the judiciary panel to dispute the charge.
If he is successful, the veteran No.7 will receive a fine instead and be free to play in Manly’s clash with the Raiders on Friday.
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But if he is unsuccessful, Cherry-Evans will cop a three-game suspension, ruling him out of his side’s blockbuster clash with the Broncos during Magic Round.
Cherry-Evans has only been charged once in 14 seasons — a grade one dangerous throw ironically also against the Eels in 2018 — but his impeccable record hasn’t been taken into account.
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And that has sparked some of his teammates to suggest an overhaul of the judicial system that rewards a clean record.
Halfback Luke Brooks said being a “clean skin for so long should count for something,” and believes there should be a “good behaviour bond.”
Meanwhile, Jake Trbojevic said his skipper “deserves some kind of leniency for good behaviour.”
Cherry-Evans has never been suspended and his lawyer, Nick Ghabar, is expected to use that as in his case this evening.
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Source Agencies
