Tino complains about ‘eye scrape’, Addo-Carr targeted with bottle in Bulldogs’ win
By Dan Walsh
Updated July 24, 2022 — 4.15pmfirst published at 3.37pm
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/live-scores?match=518012483
Alleged facial contact by Bulldogs back-rower Corey Waddell and a projectile launched at teammate Josh Addo-Carr have headlined an ugly afternoon in which Titans skipper Tino Fa’asuamaleaui copped it from every corner of CommBank Stadium.
Waddell’s 22nd minute citing for allegedly “scraping across the eyes” of Fa’asuamaleaui was the flashpoint in a brutal first half, while Addo-Carr’s third try of the 36-26 Bulldogs thumping is also under investigation to identify a fan who hurled a plastic bottle of water at the runaway flyer.
Tino Fa'asuamaleaui alerts referee Ben Cummins to an eye gouge from Corey Waddell, resulting in a penalty for the Bulldogs.
A VenuesLive official confirmed to the
Herald that stadium security began immediately scouring through footage to determine the culprit.
While the patron is yet to be identified, stadium officials believe the bottle was thrown into the air in celebration from a Canterbury fan who was cheering Addo-Carr’s hat-trick.
The bottle did not come from the direction of the Titans’ supporter bay and there is no evidence a Gold Coast fan was in the area as enquiries continued.
As for Waddell and Fa’asuamaleaui, the unsavoury incident saw the Maroons forward emerging from the tackle and remonstrating with referee Ben Cummins.
Corey Waddell’s hands on the face of Tino Fa’asuamaleaui.
Waddell was third man in to a tackle on Fa’asuamaleaui and in reaching over his teammates to get involved, had his hand around the Queenslander’s face as he reefed the Maroons forward to the ground.
“He’s accusing [him] of scraping across the eyes,” Cummins was heard saying on in-game audio, with Bulldogs players arguing it was accidental.
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“You’ve been around the face, it’s on report and a penalty will go against you. Don’t go there,” Cummins told Waddell.
After Fa’asuamaleaui’s
own State of Origin stink with Matt Burton he was always a marked man with anyone wearing blue and white, drawing boos from the partisan crowd whenever he went near the ball.
Josh Addo-Carr was forced to dodge a plastic drink bottle that was hurled at him from the crowd as he streamed towards the try line.
Tevita Pangai jnr called Fa’asuamaleaui out in an
interview with the Herald a week ago, with his entry from the bench greeted by a Fa’asuamaleaui shoulder charge.
That incident was not put on report at the time, though teammate Jaimin Jolliffe was cited for clipping Josh Jackson high later as players used any excuse to come together for regulation pushing and shoving.
Either side of the drama, points aplenty were traded.
By the 45th minute Addo-Carr had a hat-trick and Canterbury a 22-point lead, Justin Holbrook’s coaching credentials under the microscope as Mick Potter’s continue to soar.
A second-half rally by the Titans failed to paper over their porous edge defence efforts as Fifitas David and Jojo both added their names to the scoresheet.
The latter’s four-pointer – the first of what is likely to be a few in what looks a promising NRL career for the schoolboy rugby union star – followed efforts from Phillip Sami and Patrick Herbert that trimmed Canterbury’s lead to 10 points.
But with Jeremy Marshall-King sniping around the ruck to the tune of a first half assist and try of his own, the Bulldogs’ 26-6 half-time lead always looked too much for the visitors to overcome.
Addo-Carr’s troublesome glute muscle got a workout along the way, with the dumped NSW winger collecting 297 running metres thanks to three long-range tries, the second of which came with an offside question mark before he latched onto a 100-metre intercept.