The lawyer who successfully challenged Viliame Kikau’s dangerous contact charge at the judiciary on Tuesday night has called for an overhaul of the system to provide discounts to representative players or those participating in the finals series.
Kikau was facing an $1800 fine with an early guilty plea for his challenge on Parramatta kicker Mitchell Moses, but the Bulldogs elected to contest the charge despite Kikau not being in danger of missing a match through suspension.
The club feared the prospect of the guilty plea going on his record, increasing the likelihood that a future misdemeanour could result in the Kikau missing a big end-of-season game.
The decision to contest the charge proved a masterstroke, with Kikau’s lawyer Paul McGirr earning a rare victory in just his second appearance at the judiciary. McGirr was able to convince the panel that Kikau didn’t put Moses into a dangerous position, and that the Eels star was playing for a penalty.
“Players are very wily and will try to gain any edge,” McGirr said on Wednesday. “Is it gamesmanship? Possibly. But the judiciary and match officials need to be turned on to that and not fall for the trap. It’s a fine line.”
McGirr felt the bigger issue was the practice of players not contesting charges of which they believed they were innocent, for fear of copping a greater sanction at Rugby League Central. He said that pleading guilty to minor matters “can come back and haunt you” if subsequent offences resulted in time on the sidelines.
Viliame Kikau.Credit: Getty Images
“At the time, you think, ‘It’s only a fine, we’ll pay for you, who cares?’” McGirr explained. “But it goes on your record and then when you need your good record, you think about how sad that could be going into the finals.
“That would be Kikau’s second strike. Not that he’s planning on offending, but it could prove the difference between playing in a grand final or not. Ironically, you get done on a double points weekend and you think ‘Why did I plead to that when I wasn’t even guilty?’
“I keep using the traffic analogy: professional drivers get more points because they are on the road more often.
“If a player is playing finals and rep games, and is on the field more often, there should be some compensation for that. You don’t want it to cost someone a spot in a grand final.
“The more you play as a rep or finals player, the more chances there are to offend.
“Some players may have a 30 per cent greater chance of being pinged for something. That’s why in the traffic world, professional drivers have two more points on their licence.
“The NRL should be looking at it. A general punter driving his car, they don’t have 12 camera angles on them when they are driving. There would be no one on the road.”
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