Brisbane’s Ben Te’o will be sidelined for the next two NRL matches after being found guilty of a grade three dangerous contact charge, before successfully getting the offence downgraded to a grade two offence at an eventful judiciary hearing on Wednesday.
The Kiwi back-rower was initially hit with a four-game ban following a marathon hearing lasting almost two hours in the wake of his shoulder charge on Wests Tigers prop Matt Groat that forced him off the field with concussion last Friday.
However, immediately after the verdict was delivered by the three-man panel of Michael Buettner, Don McKinnon and Chris McKenna, the Broncos’ counsel Peter Shields applied for a second hearing to fight the grading.
That lasted almost 45 minutes, and saw video footage presented of incidents involving St George Illawarra’s Leeson Ah Mau and Canberra’s Joel Thompson which Shield claimed were similar to Te’o’s but were deemed to be grade one offences.
The panel took just over five minutes to make their second decision and the 25-year-old will now be free to return in round nine against the Warriors.
Broncos’ chief executive Paul White said the verdict vindicated the club’s decision to make the trip to Sydney.
“The decision has made it a worthwhile effort in what has been a long night for all concerned,” White said.
“Our focus is now on facing Canberra this weekend.”
The decision to find Te’o guilty places the future of the shoulder charge very much in doubt, in light of the one-match imposed on Canterbury’s Frank Pritchard earlier in the season for a challenge to the head of Penrith’s David Simmonds.
Shield earlier presented nine still shots of the incident and asked Te’o to explain in great detail what he was doing in each one in a bid to prove his innocence.
Footage of Groat leaving the field at Allianz Stadium was also presented, with Shield arguing that there were no lacerations to his face and little evidence to suggest Te’o had caught him on the head, and not the upper body.
Te’o and NRL counsel Peter Kite then had a verbal sparring match, with the player fighting his corner under questioning, claiming his the challenge was fair, with Kite arguing that there was no evidence to suggest he had not hit Groat in the head.
“I could see he had no footwork as he is a front-rower, and I had watched video of him all week,” Te’o said.
“I knew he would take off straight up so I shortened my step to get my timing right and hit him above the ball and into the shoulder. I was hard and fast and he was hard and fast.”
However, Kite’s argument proved to be successful and a decision was made by the panel in less than 10 minutes to find Te’o guilty.
