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Wade Graham says the bar has now been set for reckless high tackles as the Sharks veteran prepares to spend the next four weeks altering his technique after he was suspended for four matches at the NRL judiciary on Tuesday night.
Graham was hit with a grade one reckless charge for a high shot on South Sydney’s Davvy Moale but had hoped to have it downgraded to a careless charge instead after he rushed out of the line to force an error.
The former Sharks skipper argued that he had no time to react after Moale received a pass from Cam Murray and that his history of head knocks led to him changing his technique to tackle higher instead of around the hips.
But Graham may now need to rethink that technique given the increased risk of things going wrong if he decides to keep tackling around the ball. “That’s probably going to take a bit more time to answer.
I’ve got a bit of time now to think about that,” he said.
“I’ll regroup, get back to training and I’ve got a month of hard work ahead of me now. I’m disappointed, and I think if that’s the bar they’ve set moving forward for a reckless tackle, it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out for the rest of the year. “They’ve set a bar now for a reckless tackle for the rest of the year, so we’ll have to see how it plays out. I’ll have to work on a few things at training for sure.”
This was just the second time Graham had appeared in front of the judiciary during his 16 year career, with the back-rower conceding he got a bad vibe from the outset based on the directions the panel were given.
It means he will need to play the remaining regular season matches and then three finals games to reach the 300-game mark in what could be his final year.
Graham wasn’t penalised at the time but was sent to the sin bin moments after Rabbitohs centre Campbell Graham scored after the bunker told referee Todd Smith that the contact was high.
Eight camera angles decided Graham’s fate, with judiciary counsel Patrick Knowles ultimately proving to the panel of Bob Lindner and former referee Paul Simpkins that Graham’s actions were reckless.
The panel was unanimous in their verdict, ruling that Graham targeted Moale high without considering potential injury after launching himself from the ground.
“The real issue here is whether Graham was reckless in performing the tackle,” Knowles said, pointing out that there were no mitigating factors.
“Recklessness requires that Graham foresaw that contact with the head or neck of the player he was tackling may occur, but he made the tackle regardless of the danger involved.
“The danger involved in this tackle is significant.
“Luckily, Moale wasn’t seriously injured, but this tackle has no place in rugby league. It’s a risk players carrying the ball shouldn’t face.”
Graham’s lawyer Nick Ghabar argued that there was an absence of reaction from any opposition player or from the referee, which suggested that they had no issue with the tackle when they saw it live. Graham told the panel that he tries to stay away from the hips of ball carriers now because he has to “look after myself”, and that there was no time for him to alter his technique.
“I suppose I could have tried to go lower, but there was no time to change,” he said in the hearing.
“It was all in the space of a few metres. I think it was too late to change anything.
