‘Plenty of Work Ahead’: Panthers Coach Ivan Cleary Outraged by ‘Concerning’ Match Review Committee Problems

Panthers head coach Ivan Cleary has voiced his concerns regarding the troubling matters surrounding the NRL match review committee. The reigning champions will be without one of their most seasoned players for the next fortnight due to a suspension.

Reports emerged last week indicating that the ARL Commission is considering taking control of judiciary processes in the future.

This mid-season change has drawn criticism from the RLPA, which released a statement over the weekend characterising it as “an unprecedented overreach of extrajudicial authority.”

Cleary reflected these concerns during his regular Tuesday press conference when questioned about the impending alterations to the judiciary system.

He acknowledged that there could be “danger” associated with this shift.

“There was an incident over the weekend that I found quite disappointing,” he noted.

“The worrying aspect is that the Commission appears to have little faith in the MRC.

“I can’t say for certain if that’s the reason behind this move, but it’s certainly a troubling assumption. The core issue is whether we trust the MRC.”

“If we lack that trust, we should rectify the situation rather than resorting to a ‘we’ll intervene if we disapprove’ approach… there’s clearly work to be done.”

The incident Cleary referenced involved Scott Sorensen during his team’s away victory against the Warriors last Saturday.

The back-rower tackled Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, dragging him to the ground in a manner that was not penalised during the match but was later reported.

After Watene-Zelezniak left the field with an ankle injury, Sorensen received a grade two dangerous contact charge for a hip drop tackle.

As a consequence, the 32-year-old will miss two upcoming games, and Cleary expressed his dissatisfaction.

“I feel he was treated quite harshly,” he stated.

“There’s been ample discussion on the hip drop tackles this season, and coaches have publicly conveyed their confusion. The hip drop regulation is so unclear—it’s impossible to determine its original intent or authorship.”

“Scott executed a tackle that would be classified by most as a standard rugby league tackle.

“No one noticed it during the match; even the tackled player didn’t think twice about it. Not a single referee, touch judge, or the 18,000 fans questioned it. Yet due to an injury, we had to retrospectively investigate. This is definitely an area needing scrutiny.”

“A player’s ankle injury shouldn’t automatically lead to a suspension. If our goal is to prevent every injury and penalise players to achieve that, we need to accept that accidents happen; I truly believe this was one of those cases.”

When asked if the club opted for an early guilty plea instead of contesting Sorensen’s charge, the accomplished coach simply smiled and replied with a brief comment.

“That’s a fair way to frame it,” Cleary acknowledged.

Penrith is set to clash with the top-of-the-table Bulldogs in a highly anticipated matchup on Thursday night.