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Knights star Gagai avoids ban after giving referee a verbal spray

(Photo by Ashley Feder/Getty Images)

Dane Gagai has avoided an NRL ban after the match review committee found the Newcastle star did not question the integrity of officials when he swore at them in Friday night’s loss to the Sydney Roosters.

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Fresh off another horror night in Newcastle, the Knights at least woke to good news on Saturday with Gagai not even charged for a tirade at referee Peter Gough.

Initially sin-binned on-field, there had been thoughts that Gagai could cop a suspension similar to the three-match ban handed to Melbourne utility Brandon Smith earlier this month.

But while in that instance Smith labelled Adam Gee a “cheating bastard”, AAP understands Gagai was only guilty of repetitive foul language and therefore not charged.

The news comes as some relief to Newcastle officials who are already pondering how to deal with Kalyn Ponga’s third concussion in six weeks.

Ponga was felled by a Matthew Lodge high shot, with the low-impact nature of the hit raising concerns from the likes of Knights legend Andrew Johns.

The incident came after he first suffered a concussion against Penrith early last month, before being ruled out for a week after another head knock in Origin.

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Ponga will visit a brain injury specialist in Dr Chris Levi at John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle this week, as the club attempt to work out how to best deal with the incident.

Queensland teammate Christian Welch has already called for the Knights to rest Ponga for the remainder of the season, with their finals hopes officially over.

“You have to look at him as an investment and as an asset,” Welch, who is a director on the Rugby League Players Association board, said on Triple M.

“I don’t know the severity of the head knock … but if you’re not going to play finals what are you going to gain.

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“If you have a long-term view of him … I would be shutting him down.”

But coach Adam O’Brien said on Friday night it was too early to speculate on if Ponga could be ruled out for the season.

“We’ll go through the process the week, he’s had a couple,” O’Brien said.

“But I am more concerned with how upset he is at the moment. He’s pretty emotional and feels like he’s left everyone down.

“It’s too premature for me to comment too much (on how we manage it). We’ll send him to the people who know a lot more than me.”

Back-rower Lachlan Fitzgibbon is also unlikely to face Canterbury next Sunday, after suffering a shoulder injury.

But O’Brien said he would not begin experimenting for 2023 by bringing young players in despite the finals no longer being in reach with a 5-13 record.

“I won’t do it just because the season is gone … you’re just handing the jersey to blokes who haven’t earned it,” he said.

“You just cheapen the jersey I think. But there’s no doubt there’s guys in there that probably need to feel what it’s like to lose one.”

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J
JW 32 minutes ago
Let's be real about these All Blacks

I didn't really get the should tone from it, but maybe because I was just reading it as my own thoughts.


What I read it as was examples of how they played well enough in every game to be able to win it.


Yeah I dunno if Ben wouldn't see it that way (someone else would for sure need to point it out to him though), I'm more in the Ben not appreciating that those close losses werent one off scenarios camp. Sure you can look at dubious decisions causing them to have to play with 14 or 13 men at the death as viable reasons but even in the games they won without such difficulties they made a real struggle of it (compared to how good some of their first half play was). This kind of article where you trying to point out the 3 losses really would most likely have been wins only really makes sense/works when your other performances make those 3 games (or endings) stand out.


There might have been a sentence here and there to ensure some good comment numbers but when he's signing off the article by saying things like ..

Whilst these All Blacks aren’t blowing teams off the park like during the 2010s, they are nuggety and resourceful and don’t wilt. They are prepared to win the hard way, accumulating points by any means necessary.

and..

The other top sides in the world struggled to put them away. France and South Africa both could have well been defeated on home soil.

I don't really see it. Always making sure people are upto date with the SH standing/perspective! NZ went through some tough times with so many different perspectives and reasons why, but then it was.. amusing how.. behind everyone was once they turned a corner. More of these 'unfortunate' results returned against SA and France at the start of the RWC which made it extra tasty to catch other teams out when they did bring it. So that created some 'conscious' perspective that I just kept going and sharing re thoughts on similar predicaments of other teams, I had been really confident that Wallabies displays vs NZ were real, that the Argentines can backup their thing against Aus and SA (and so obviously the rest), and current one is that England are actually consistent and improving with their attack (which everyone should get onboard with), and I'm expecting a more dominant display against Japan (even though they should have more of their experienced internationals for this one) that highlights further growth from July. 👍

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