Brisbane Broncos forward Marty Taupau is in hot water after he was sin-binned for a raised knee incident against the Rabbitohs.
Taupau was sent from the field in the 12th minute after his knee connected high with defender Campbell Graham.
The score at the time was 6-6 after tries to Alex Johnston and Kotoni Staggs, but didn’t end up costing the side in the end with the Broncos winning 36-20.
READ MORE: Warriors star clinches victory in golden point thriller
READ MORE: ‘Negative’ tactic Matildas must scrap to win World Cup
READ MORE: ‘Rattled’ Cummins ripped for Ashes shocker
Rugby league legend Paul Vautin was shocked by Taupau’s act on first vision.
“That was really dangerous, he looked like he was doing long jump, winding up to get to the sand, that could’ve really hurt someone,” he said on Nine’s coverage.
“What is that? You can’t do that.”
Queensland great Cameron Smith believed it was simply a hit-up gone wrong.
“He’s raised the left knee but I think he’s just mistimed his run, that can’t be intentional,” he said.
“He’s in a bit of trouble but that can’t be intentional, he’s just got that whole return run wrong.”
Rabbitohs star channels Adesanya
Following Taupau being sin-binned, Vautin agreed with Smith but condemned the act.
“It’s definitely dangerous, and I’m with you (Cam), I don’t think he’s trying to do it on purpose … I don’t know what he’s trying to do but you can’t have that in rugby league, you can’t raise your knees like that,” he said.
The Rabbitohs couldn’t make Brisbane pay for being a man down, and surprisingly, the Broncos were first to score following the incident when Selwyn Cobbo went over in the 23rd minute.
Graham then put his side ahead 14-12 right on half-time, barging over the Broncos defence.
The Broncos came out firing in the second half, though, scoring three unanswered tries through Reece Walsh, Xavier Willison and Staggs to lead 30-14 after 62 minutes.
Stream the NRL premiership 2023 live and free on 9Now
Taafe cops brutal blow
A Jesse Arthars sin-bin moments later for a high shot on Blake Taafe then gave the Rabbitohs a chance, with Isaiah Tass going over to make it 30-20 with 10 minutes left.
Errors continued to prove costly for the Rabbitohs, and former Souths halfback Adam Reynolds sealed victory with his own try to finish the game at 36-20.
Vautin didn’t hold back when assessing the losing side’s showing.
“Their performance has been inept, very, very ordinary with the ball, dropped it so many times and virtually invited the Brisbane Broncos back into the match,” he said.
“The Broncos finished it off nicely, great win by the Broncos.”
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
The Mole’s round 20 team of the week: ‘Explosive’ star gives battling powerhouse a preview of 2024 boost
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
