Victor Radley’s horror judiciary record has come back to haunt him with the Sydney Roosters lock facing at least a three-game ban for headbutting Blake Lawrie.
Key points:
- Roosters lock Victor Radley is facing another lengthy suspension following a headbutt on Dragons prop Blake Lawrie
- Radley has been charged with striking and will be suspended for three matches with an early guilty plea or four if he fights the charge and loses
- The England international is no stranger to the judiciary with his style of play coming under the spotlight in recent times
Radley was on Saturday handed the relatively light charge of a grade-one striking offence for his contact with Lawrie in the loss to St George Illawarra, after lashing out at him in a fight.
Under normal circumstances Radley would have been able to take a $1500 fine and ensure he was free to face Canterbury after next week’s bye.
But the fact Radley has had four previous offences in the past 12 months alone means he is not eligible for that penalty.
Instead, he will only be able to take a three-game ban with an early guilty plea, ruling him out of games against the Bulldogs, Penrith and Newcastle.
If he opts to fight the charge and loses, he will miss a fourth match against the Raiders in round 17.
Radley’s absence would come as a significant blow to the Roosters, who will be without State of Origin stars James Tedesco, Angus Crichton and Lindsay Collins over the next two months.
Hooker Brandon Smith is also set for a stint on the sideline after fracturing his thumb against the Dragons.
Radley has spoken repeatedly about cleaning up his game and putting an end to stints on the sideline and sin-bins, but has so far been unable to do so.
His charge comes after Lawrie said he held no ill will towards Radley for the incident.
Tempers frayed in the first half of the Dragons’ 24-22 win at Jubilee Stadium after Dragons centre Zac Lomax slammed Corey Allan into the ground as he attempted to strip the ball.
Radley rushed in to man-handle Lomax, sparking a melee between the sides.
But Lawrie shrugged the head-butting incident off post-match.
“I love ‘Rads’, he’s the ultimate competitor, absolutely great player. There’s no hard feelings at all from my end,” he said.
“Whatever the match review committee comes up with, it is what it is. I’m staying out of it.”
Roosters coach Trent Robinson claimed not to have seen the incident and was unsure whether Radley would face scrutiny from the match review committee.
Lomax avoided charge on Saturday for his role in the incident while Roosters forwards Nathan Brown and Collins were also let off for a high shot and dangerous tackle respectively.
AAP