'Absolute carnage': Titans firebrand facing ban for big hit

9 months ago 84

By Zachary Gates and Lachlan Harper

UPDATED: Moeaki Fotuaika has been offered a one-match prohibition for a monolithic deed that floored Warriors fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad.

During a firey opening fractional of the Titans' clash with the Warriors connected Friday night, Fotuaika became the 2nd subordinate successful arsenic galore nights to beryllium sent from the field.

Just 1 nighttime aft Roosters front-rower Nathan Brown was sent disconnected by referee Ashley Klein for a brutal deed connected Manly's Ben Trbojevic, Fotuaika copped the aforesaid punishment from Ben Cummins.

Fotuaika has been deed with a people 2 careless precocious tackle complaint and offered a one-game ban. He'll bull a 2nd week disconnected if helium fights it astatine the judiciary and loses.

Earlier successful the crippled astatine Gold Coast's Cbus Super Stadium, yet won by the New Zealand outfit 28-18, Titans hooker Chris Randall avoided being marched from the tract contempt making dense interaction with the caput of Warriors winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak.

Moeaki Fotuaika heads to the misdeed bin connected Friday night. (Getty Images)

Cummins opted against sending him disconnected oregon sin-binning him and alternatively lone placed him connected study and penalised the Titans. He avoided a authorisation for the hit.

Another arguable infinitesimal came erstwhile David Fifita and Marata Niukore got successful a insignificant scuffle astatine the ruck.

Niukore slapped Fifita successful the look — it's got to beryllium said, precise lightly — and Cummins dumped the Warriors enforcer successful the misdeed bin.

Yet Fifita had slapped Niukore successful the look first.

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Former State of Origin hooker Michael Ennis weighed successful connected the melodramatic archetypal fractional during Fox League's half-time coverage.

Moeaki Fotuaika was sent disconnected for this hit. (Kayo)

"The was nary different option, determination was nary different enactment than to nonstop him from the field," Ennis said of the Fotuaika send-off.

"I'm blessed with that determination from Ben Cummins.

"Randall's had to beryllium a sin-bin; it was nonstop interaction to the head. Had to beryllium a sin-bin.

"It was carnage, implicit carnage astatine this point. Ben Cummins was nether duress. It was coming from everywhere. Tensions were truly high."

Titans manager Jim Lenihan believes the send-off was excessively harsh.

"I deliberation if you comparison the 1 from past nighttime I don't deliberation it was the aforesaid benignant of thing," Lenihan said.

"I don't deliberation Mo's coming retired of the crushed oregon coming recklessly retired of the ground. I deliberation Mo's beauteous overmuch bracing and made a spot of interaction to the head. Maybe 10 minutes was sufficient. I don't cognize if it justifies astatine that constituent to astir apt ruin the game, but it enactment america nether a full batch of unit and beauteous overmuch the crippled was implicit astatine that point."

Broncos fable Corey Parker blasted the determination to nonstop Niukore to the misdeed bin.

Niukore sin-binned for look slap

"Ridiculous ... Fifita was the instigator here, Marata conscionable goes backmost successful astatine marker. Fifita perfectly initiates contact, pushes him successful the face, Marata Niukore with a lazy small 'How ya goin'?' backmost and helium gets 10 (minutes) connected the backmost of that," Parker said.

"I mean, if Fifita's capable to bash that with shot successful manus and enactment connected the tract — it's ridiculous.

"And for the fans astatine location who beryllium and ticker and wage their wealth — they've got nary thought similar we do. That was ridiculous to enactment Marata successful the bin for that."

Instead of criticising the referee for the decision, Warriors manager Andrew Webster enactment the blasted connected his broadside but lone earlier laughing astatine the question. Webster has repeatedly avoided questions this play astir referee decisions.

"I don't know, yea it's hard though, I hatred these ones," helium laughed.

"I'm not going to spell there.

"It was conscionable an incidental wherever I thought we were poorly disciplined to beryllium honest, we've got to instrumentality up for ourselves each the clip and that's important but we've got to bash it successful the close mode ... we cognize that, nary one's making excuses successful there, we struggled successful a mates of those moments."

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