UPDATED: Jack De Belin has been offered a three-week suspension for a hip-drop tackle on Christian Tuipulotu.
On Sunday morning, the Dragons enforcer was hit with a grade two dangerous tackle charge. He’ll be out for four weeks if he fights the charge at the judiciary and loses.
The Dragons were left fuming at a Bunker decision after De Belin was sin binned in the side’s 24-18 loss to Manly.
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The Dragons forward was given his marching orders in the 63rd minute after what was judged to be a hip drop tackle on Christian Tuipulotu.
De Belin’s departure came following a significant stoppage in play due to a Tuipulotu injury, with the winger not returning to the field after he hobbled off.
Upon leaving the ground, De Belin was notably irate along with coach Ryan Carr.
Rugby league legend Steve ‘Blocker’ Roach believed the decision was correct.
“I can understand why they did get rid of him there, he was beaten in the tackle … and then lands on the ankles,” he said on Fox League.
“I think it was half of one.”
Carr proceeded to spray the whole adjudication process in his post-match press conference after winger Dan Russell was also denied a try by the Bunker.
“De Belin was sin binned and the game stopped for nearly two minutes for a guy to get his knee strapped, that’s not the rule, it’s play on,” he said.
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“Either leave the field or play on.
“In that moment when they made an error on halfway, we lose not only possession and field position but we lose a man for 10 in the bin.
“It’s ridiculous, it’s absolutely ridiculous and I feel so sorry for my players, I feel sorry for the fans that have to watch the game and I feel sorry for fans of rugby league in general because that was a good game of footy out there and a call like that has a huge bearing on the game.”
After ranting about the lack of purpose behind seeking clarification from the NRL, Carr went on to compare an incident from his side’s match against the Tigers last week.
“Last week … Junior Amone got hip dropped by (John) Bateman and no penalty, didn’t come back from the Bunker and got charged after the game,” he explained.
“The contradiction in that alone is ridiculous … I feel so sorry for everyone involved in our club and everyone who’s invested in it because it doesn’t deserve to come down to that.”
The Dragons showed they were up for the game, with Francis Molo scoring after six minutes. That lead extended in the 18th minute when Zac Lomax kicked a penalty goal.
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Manly then upped the ante after an error ridden first 20 minutes, scoring four unanswered tries through Tolutau Koula, Haumole Olakau’atu, Reuben Garrick and Jason Saab with the score 22-8 early in the second half.
Dragons second-rower Billy Burns finally gave his side momentum when he pounced on a Ben Hunt grubber just before the De Belin sin bin.
Surprisingly, with De Belin off the field, the Dragons scored again through Tyrell Sloan to make it 22-18 with 10 minutes remaining.
Ultimately, Manly held on, kicking a penalty goal just before full-time and stopping a last gasp play from Mikaele Ravalawa to seal victory.
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