- Elliott Whitehead and Trent Robinson faced off on Sunday
- Robinson was not happy with Whitehead’s tackles
- The Roosters lost three players to injury against Canberra
Elliott Whitehead says Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson was “out of line” in refusing to accept his apology for a tackle that injured Brandon Smith’s knee.
But Robinson felt it was hard to forgive Whitehead, who he said had been tackling with his hips down for “his whole career.”
The Canberra captain was sent to the penalty box for making a hip tackle on Smith during the first half of the Raiders’ 14-12 win, which ended with the Roosters hooker off the field.
Early indications are that the tackle injured the medial cruciate ligament in Smith’s right knee, meaning he is not certain to feature in the final for the third-placed Roosters.
“I didn’t mean to attack Brandon. I know he suffered a serious injury and everything, and I feel sorry for him,” Whitehead said.
Whitehead approached Robinson to apologise for his tackle after the game but was rebuffed by the manager, who also lost Sam Walker (knee) and Victor Radley (shoulder) to injuries on Sunday.
“I went to ask about Brandon and Trent Robinson attacked me,” Whitehead said.
“I went to apologize and he turned on me, so the way he did it I thought I was out of line.”
Elliott Whitehead (left) and Trent Robinson (right) confronted each other after Sunday’s game.
Whitehead was penalized after a hard tackle on Brandon Smith.
Robinson was reluctant to address the incident in his own post-match press conference.
But the manager felt Whitehead had a history of making hip tackles during a career that began with English Super League side Bradford in 2009.
However, in the past two years, Whitehead has only been charged with first-degree crimes.
“He came over and just wanted to ask how Brandon was doing, and I told him it’s been too many times. The hip drop has been pretty common in his game for a long time, and I told him it’s been too many times. It’s cost us a player,” Robinson said.
“That was it. He said it was an accident and I said, ‘Look, you’ve done this too many times.’ That was it.”
Robinson said he held no personal grudge against Whitehead.
“I like Elliott. I’ve been watching him since he was at Bradford and at the Catalans,” said the coach.
“Normally I wouldn’t want to talk to you (the media) about this, but he opened up about it and it’s been a very common part of his game throughout his career.”
Whitehead attempted to apologize to Smith, but Robinson intervened.
Whitehead’s tackle could have ended his NRL career.
To reach the final, the 11th-placed Raiders will likely need to beat St George Illawarra next weekend and hold Newcastle and the Dolphins to a draw.
That means the Round 27 match against the Dragons will be the club’s last before the second-row joins Super League side Catalans next season.
If the party’s review committee assigns Whitehead a grade two or grade three position, he will face suspension.
Whitehead could appeal to have his charge downgraded to grade one and pay a fine instead of serving a suspension.