- Sam Hughes appeared to push referee Kasey Badger
- Badger kept his balance after
- NRL match review hit Hughes with $3000 fine
Bulldogs star Sam Hughes has found himself in trouble after appearing to make contact with NRL referee Kasey Badger on Saturday.
The incident occurred in the first half during the Bulldogs’ game against the Wests Tigers at Accor Stadium.
Hughes appears to push Badger, who found himself in his path after coming out of a scrum on the defensive line.
The NRL match review closely examined the incident on Sunday and decided not to call it off.
Hughes escaped the Grade 1 charge and was instead fined $3000. He will face a two-match suspension if he challenges the decision and loses.
Bulldogs star Sam Hughes has been fined for making contact with a referee.
Hughes escaped the Grade 1 charge and was instead fined $3000.
It comes after another incident involving contact between a referee and a player earlier in the season.
Jahrome Hughes received a suspension for shoving referee Chris Butler while trying to stop a try in March while playing against the Warriors.
Replays show Hughes pushing Butler out of the way, with the referee falling to the ground before the Storm running back attempts a tackle to save the attempt.
Tensions threatened to boil over during the Bulldogs’ 22-14 victory and a fight finally broke out when David Klemmer went to the sin bin for dissent in the final 10 minutes.
Canterbury hooker Reed Mahoney rushed Seyfarth on as he grabbed Canterbury teammate Viliame Kikau and as the third man in the fray, appeared to receive a headbutt from the Tigers prop.
“He was just doing what anyone else would do, just running in and protecting his partner,” Mahoney said.
Unlike the fight in the victory over Newcastle, Mahoney was spared the sin, although the same cannot be said for Seyfarth.
Both Knights prop Hetherington and Mahoney sat out in round six, with the former eventually having to face a one-game ban for escalating matters in the tunnel at the same venue.
Tensions threatened to boil over during the Bulldogs’ 22-14 victory over the Tigers.
Canterbury has once again shown that they are a new team this season
When asked if he deserved the reputation of being a pest, the diminutive Mahoney took shots at Hetherington and Seyfarth.
‘People have big man syndrome, they don’t like little people talking to them. Maybe it’s their fault, not mine,” he stated.
“I’m just playing the football I’ve been playing for the last five years. I don’t really worry about that kind of stuff.
‘I get into those kinds of fights because I’m there to protect my partner. That’s what we’re here for, protecting each other to the death. I’m just there to do that, I’m not there to start anything, I’m there to protect and defend my children. That’s how I see it.’
Hetherington will return from his suspension for Sunday’s clash against the Warriors.
The Knights prop has yet to address the confrontation with Homebush, during which he appeared ready to throw a punch at Mahoney. The Bulldogs hooker remained quiet Saturday.
“I don’t really want to comment on that, I’m the type of player who leaves it all on the field. Obviously he got quite angry and I’ll leave it at that,” he said.
“Football is football, it is played with emotion and we all get like that sometimes.”
