Canterbury prop Tim Browne has denied deliberately trying to charge injured South Sydney hard man Sam Burgess with his head in Sunday night’s NRL grand final.
When the teams packed down for a second-half scrum, Browne appeared to attempt to make contact with Burgess and his fractured cheekbone when he drove hard into the Souths’ front row.
Burgess – who is expected to undergo surgery on Monday – sensed what was coming and pulled upright at engagement time so Browne couldn’t connect, however, the Englishman complained to the referees and remonstrated with the head-geared Bulldogs enforcer.
Browne has been nicknamed the metallic man by teammates, after requiring three plates in his head to repair a depressed skull fracture suffered against Wests Tigers in July.
And the 26-year-old, who 11 weeks ago had a hole in his melon the size of a golf ball, cheekily claimed he was testing out his metal plates rather than Burgess’s recently broken face when he launched hard into the scrum.
“No, not at all,” Browne laughed when asked whether he was deliberately targeting Burgess’s obvious weakness.
“I was probably just testing out the metal plates I have in my forehead and see if they worked.
“But it was nothing like that.
“It would have been soft anyway with the headgear.”
Browne said Bulldogs players were fully aware Burgess had suffered a serious injury when he went down in the first tackle of the grand final won 30-6 by Souths.
However, he denied Canterbury spoke about trying to make Burgess as uncomfortable as possible.
“We definitely noticed because he was touching there and there was a bit of blood,” he said.
“But you don’t go out there looking to head-high anyone or hurt someone in an unlawful way.
“To be totally honest, absolutely nothing was said. Full credit to Sam, he’s a very tough player and deserved the win.”
Browne, with a clear scar still visible where hair should be on the left side of his head, admitted he was gun shy about physical contact in the grand final, given he was just two matches back from an injury that was thought to be season-ending.
“You’re only human. I suppose I was but it didn’t stop me from doing anything I wouldn’t normally do,” he said.
“I’d be lying if I didn’t say there was a bit of a confidence thing there.”
Nine commentator Phil Gould was adamant Browne was deliberately trying to strike Burgess.
A few minutes later, Bulldogs prop James Graham knocked out opposite number Dave Tyrrell with a sickening head clash.
Tyrrell was stretchered from the ground but referees decided the contact made by Graham was completely accidental.
