Rugby league legend Phil ‘Gus’ Gould has revealed his own conspiracy theory behind why Billy Slater could miss his last game.
The retiring Melbourne Storm star may have already played his last game unless he can beat a charge over a try-stopping play in his team’s win over the Sharks.
The fullback denied Cronulla Sharks winger Sosaia Feki a try in the corner in the 13th minute of play with a brutal shoulder charge.
Footy legend Gus Gould has revealed a conspiracy theory behind why Billy Slater could miss his last game
Slater, 35, was immediately penalised for the shot which saw him rush in from the blindside and knock Feki over the sideline (pictured)
Slater, 35, was immediately penalised for the shot which saw him rush in from the blindside and knock Feki over the sideline.
Slater was officially charged for a grade one shoulder charge on Saturday and will miss the Melbourne Storm’s grand final match against the Sydney Roosters unless he successfully fights the charge at an NRL judiciary hearing on Tuesday night.
On Monday night, Gould and Sharks captain Paul Gallen locked heads over the tackle.
‘No game rubs its champions out more than the NRL. It makes me sick,’ Gould said.
‘We think it’s about everything but the players. The players are the ones who will bring people through the gate and we’ve got to let them play.
‘When the rule was introduced we asked: What about the fullback coming across, cover defence, into the corner, last ditch effort and bundling him into touch?’
‘I’ve seen that half a dozen times and no one has been charged, not even penalised, in fact I’ve probably seen it two dozen times over the past couple of years where a fullback or centre has taken out a winger close to the try-line and nothing has happened.
‘For me it was dealt with on the field. The referee penalised them. That’s it. That’s where it should have ended. Cronulla got their advantage.’
Gallen (pictured) stood firmly by his decision that Slater should miss the Grand Final
‘For me it was dealt with on the field. The referee penalised them. That’s it. That’s where it should have ended. Cronulla got their advantage,’ Gallen said
Gallen stood firmly by his decision that Slater should miss the Grand Final and contested Gould’s comment about Cronulla stating they were disadvantaged because Slater was not penalised or sent to the sin bin during the game.
‘For me it was dealt with on the field. The referee penalised them. That’s it. That’s where it should have ended. Cronulla got their advantage,’ Gallen said.
‘We didn’t get an advantage. I think had it been dealt with better on the field, we wouldn’t be in this mess.
‘My initial reaction was penalty try, it’s a deliberate shoulder charge in the act of scoring.
‘Now he wasn’t scoring a try because he wasn’t putting the ball down, then I’ve come back and thought, ‘He’s got to get 10 in the bin’, it’s a professional foul in a try-scoring situation.
‘If he gets 10 (minutes) in the sin-bin there that’s Cronulla’s advantage. We get no advantage now. That’s a shoulder charge.
‘You know what a great tackle would have been there? A right shoulder tackle,’ Gallen continued
‘You know what a great tackle would have been there? A right shoulder tackle,’ Gallen continued.
‘That’s a perfect opportunity for a right shoulder tackle…you put your head behind and right shoulder tackle — it would have made the highlights reel.
‘The rules state you have to wrap your arm, he didn’t attempt to wrap his arm.
‘I feel sorry for him that he’s been charged, but I think if they’re going to be serious and they’re going to stick to the rules the way they are written he’s got to miss a game.’
NRL 360 host Paul Kent said Slater has a chance of getting away with the shoulder charge because of ‘his right hand wrapped around Feki’s body’.
‘With a sympathetic jury Slater can get away with it’.
The decision will be announced on Tuesday.
NRL 360 host Paul Kent said Slater has a chance of getting away with the shoulder charge