AAP Rugby

Penrith's Fisher-Harris to avoid NRL ban for hip-drop

By AAP Newswire

Aug 20, 2023

Penrith enforcer James Fisher-Harris will be breathing a sigh of relief after avoiding suspension for a hip-drop tackle in Saturday night's 40-14 NRL win against the Gold Coast.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

The Kiwi international was put on report for the tackle on Jacob Alick that left the Titans player in considerable discomfort and there were fears he could be looking at a suspension heading into finals.

But the NRL match review panel has deemed it a grade-one dangerous tackle, meaning he escapes with a $1000 fine.

Fisher-Harris' tackle came a week after Canterbury's Jacob Preston was handed a two-game ban for a hip-drop that injured Newcastle halfback Jackson Hastings.

Panthers coach Ivan Cleary was asked about the incident post-game and admitted he wasn't sure how it would be adjudicated.

"I didn't really see it that closely, but I don't know ... there's a bit of a grey area," he said.

"It was probably fair enough it was penalised and put on report so we'll go through that process."

Gold Coast coach Jim Lenihan said the incident "didn't look great" and joked he'd hoped Fisher-Harris would be sent to the sin bin, given they were trailing 22-14 at the time.

Saturday's only other charge saw Dolphins halfback Sean O'Sullivan fined $750, also for dangerous contact.

By AAP Newswire

Australian Associated Press