A dejected Preston was on Tuesday night found guilty of a crusher tackle on Gold Coast's Tino Fa'asuamaleaui and handed a four-game ban in a mega blow to the ladder-leading Bulldogs.
Preston's pain is doubled by the fact he could have copped a fine if not for two previous offences this year, but will now instead miss a month of football.The NSW hopeful will miss games against Canberra, Sydney Roosters, Dolphins and Parramatta, and not play again before teams are picked for Origin II.
But in a stunning post-hearing statement, Preston's lawyer Paul McGirr claimed diving was widespread in the game as players attempted to earn penalties from crusher tackles.
"I'm not suggesting this with Tino, but some players certainly appear to be lying down a bit in order to milk a penalty," McGirr said.
"Particularly when players go down and behave like their heads almost falling off, and then they're running it up two or three times in the next (set of) six."
McGirr's comments come after the record spate of sin-bins for foul play a fortnight ago, before a significant reduction at Magic Round.
Taking part in his first NRL hearing, McGirr said his stance came out of a fear that league would go down the same path as rugby with stop-start play.
"The general punter in the pub is sick of it," McGirr said."After the game even sometimes you can see opposition players smiling at each other and laughing about it."In this instance, the referee never even called anything out."Inside the hour-long hearing, Preston claimed Canterbury had prepared for Fa'asuamaleaui to turn his back into tackles.
And while McGirr suggested that left the Queensland Origin lock vulnerable to injury, Preston said the Bulldogs had discussed how to tackle him safely.
McGirr then showed the panel at least 12 separate runs from Fa'asuamaleaui in Sunday's match, where he turned his back into tackles during the Titans' loss
"Generally he will run the ball up and hit and spin and look to offload or gain post-contact metres while threatening to offload," Preston said.
"We practice ways that are safe, we always prioritise the duty of care of players."
Preston said his right arm became "wedged" in Fa'asuamaleaui's armpit, meaning he initially struggled to release the Titans' star's head.
"I was trying to make sure I don't put him in a vulnerable position ... I am conscious of the position he could fall into," Preston said.
"I am trying to rip my right arm out and put it on the front of his body to avoid putting him in a dangerous position ... such as the crusher tackle."
Preston contested claims from the NRL's lawyer, Lachlan Gyles, that he had added to the force on Fa'asuamaleaui's head by leaving the ground in the tackle.
Gyles also claimed there was no evidence to suggest Preston did try to remove his arm, a point the Bulldogs second-rower flatly rejected.
"As my arm comes out that's when I lose my feet simultaneously," Preston said.
But the panel of Tony Puletua and Paul Simpkins took less than 15 minutes to agree with Gyles, pointing to Preston's feet leaving the ground as their main issue.
Preston's ban means he joins Sitili Tupouniua and Josh Curran as suspended Bulldogs, ahead of their top-of-the-table clash with the Raiders on Saturday.
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