chisdog
Kennel Legend
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2010
- Messages
- 8,165
- Reaction score
- 7,811
Ricky Stuart has admitted he stuffed up and it was lucky his team didn't beat St George Illawarra after Canberra illegally used an 18th man in their 22-20 loss.
The NRL asked both the Raiders and ground officials for a please explain on Saturday night, after teenager Xavier Savage wrongfully entered the field as a concussion sub.
Savage was allowed on the field for 12 minutes after halftime when he should not have been, before NRL officials called the ground to have him removed.
Acting as 18th man, the Cairns junior was brought on as a concussion replacement at the start of the second half after Sebastian Kris was hit high just before the break.
Jack Bird was put on report for the incident, prompting the Raiders to believe they could enact their extra man.
However, under NRL rules, replacement players are only allowed when there have been three failed HIAs or the foul play resulted in a sin-bin or send-off.
Raiders officials since claimed that the NRL's interchange official allowed the 19-year-old to go on the field when they handed them the HIA card.
But Stuart said he did not blame them for the confusion, putting it all on himself.
"That was my fault. I thought if a player gets put on report I could use my 18th man," Stuart conceded.
"Fortunately we didn't win. It saves a few blokes and the ground manager and me a bit of skin.
Ricky Stuart has admitted he stuffed up and it was lucky his team didn't beat St George Illawarra after Canberra illegally used an 18th man in their 22-20 loss.
The NRL asked both the Raiders and ground officials for a please explain on Saturday night, after teenager Xavier Savage wrongfully entered the field as a concussion sub.
Savage was allowed on the field for 12 minutes after halftime when he should not have been, before NRL officials called the ground to have him removed.
Acting as 18th man, the Cairns junior was brought on as a concussion replacement at the start of the second half after Sebastian Kris was hit high just before the break.
Jack Bird was put on report for the incident, prompting the Raiders to believe they could enact their extra man.
However, under NRL rules, replacement players are only allowed when there have been three failed HIAs or the foul play resulted in a sin-bin or send-off.
Raiders officials since claimed that the NRL's interchange official allowed the 19-year-old to go on the field when they handed them the HIA card.
But Stuart said he did not blame them for the confusion, putting it all on himself.
"That was my fault. I thought if a player gets put on report I could use my 18th man," Stuart conceded.
"Fortunately we didn't win. It saves a few blokes and the ground manager and me a bit of skin.
"If we had have won, it would have been disappointing to see what happened."
Savage had one run for nine metres before NRL management phoned the sidelines and ordered him off with Canberra having illegally used 18 players.
Had Canberra won there is every chance they would have been stripped of points. Instead, the biggest likely punishment is a fine.
"The NRL has asked for full reports from the Raiders as well as our staff on duty at the ground to ascertain the circumstances which led to the 18th man being incorrectly activated," an NRL spokesman said.
Meanwhile Dragons coach Anthony Griffin did not believe Bird should have been penalised at all for the initial hit, with the contact coming as he pushed Kris to the ground in a tackle.
"It's just confusing now how those penalties get awarded," Griffin said.
"We're still looking too hard for penalties or players to be put on report."
It capped off a bizarre night at WIN Stadium, where the wind was so strong that kick-offs struggled to go 10 metres and bombs flew backwards.
Dragons debutant Tyrell Sloan showed glimpses of why the Dragons consider him a star of the future, scoring a crucial try just after halftime.
After the Raiders shot out to a 20-6 lead just after the break, Hunt played it smart to dominate field possession and with good last-tackle plays.
Then Sloan worked his magic.
Just two weeks after his 19th birthday, he chipped for Corey Norman on the last and then backed up on his own play to bag his first NRL try from his five-eighth.
Norman later scored the go-ahead try with 12 minutes to play, after Jack de Belin went to the line to help Paul Vaughan put the five-eighth over.
But there was one last drama, with Semi Valemei ruled to have gone out after a seemingly illegal second effort by Dragons defenders with a minute to play and Canberra on the attack.
