Canberra have blasted the NRL’s decision to overrule the Raiders’ penalty for fullback Jack Wighton, who has pleaded guilty to five assault charges from a night out.
The Raiders proposed a six-week ban for the 25-year-old on Monday, but the NRL deemed the club’s punishment to not be harsh enough and has ensured Wighton won’t play again in the regular season.
Raiders chairman Allan Hawke has fired back at the NRL’s treatment of the situation, calling their ban “excessive” as Wighton still faces sentencing in November.
“After reviewing all of the facts surrounding this incident we firmly stand by our decision and the punishment handed down by the club,” Hawke said.
“We’re disappointed to learn the NRL does not agree with this punishment and feel they have to come over the top and add a further four weeks and a monetary fine (of $30,000) to the penalty.
“We are perplexed as to why the NRL felt the need to impose further punishment before this process was concluded and it sets an extraordinary precedent to the way matters are handled by clubs in the future.
“In light of this, it appears clubs don’t really have a role in imposing penalties on their own employees, so perhaps it’s time for the NRL and its integrity unit to decide these matters, so that there will be a consistent approach for future offences.”
The only way Wighton could play again this year is if the Raiders, who sit three games outside of the top-eight, make the finals.
Wighton has five days to appeal the penalty.
NRL CEO Todd Greenberg had made it clear that he didn’t agree with the Raiders’ stance, suggesting the club could be overruled.
“It’s simple as this – I’ve viewed the footage and I don’t think the sanction they’ve proposed is strong enough,” Greenberg said on Thursday.
Wighton will face sentencing on November 14 over five charges of assault, including two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and one of public urination
He changed his plea to guilty in June after initially looking to contest the charges when he first fronted the ACT Magistrates Court in April.
The maximum penalty for assault occasioning actual bodily harm is a five-year jail sentence.
