Parramatta forward Ryan Matterson has defended his decision to accept a three-match ban for a crusher tackle rather than pay a $4000 fine, declaring: “If you do something wrong at work, they don’t take money off you.”
Matterson was hit with a grade-one offence on Penrith fullback Dylan Edwards early in the second half of the grand final, the third time the match review committee has charged him this year.
The Eels’ forward stocks were already depleted for 2023 following the departures of Isaiah Papali’i, Marata Niukore, Reed Mahoney, Oregon Kaufusi and Ray Stone. Now Matterson will be missing for the first three games after opting to take a suspension rather than a monetary penalty.
Matterson said he had the support of the club in making the decision.
“I just feel $4000 is pretty hefty considering I have already paid nearly $4000 in fines already this year for things that are absurd,” Matterson said.
“At the end of the day I’ve got personal things to worry about outside of rugby league. I just didn’t think it was warranted …
Dejected backrower Ryan Matterson after the grand final loss.Credit:Getty
“If you do something wrong at work, they don’t take money off you.
“At the end of the day, I didn’t do anything wrong. I’m playing rugby league, it’s just getting quicker and quicker and people are getting stronger and stronger – and the game keeps changing rules.
“The fines need to go.”
Matterson said he was shocked that he received a ban when Panthers playmaker Jarome Luai escaped sanction after appearing to strike out at an Eels player with his foot.
“At the time I thought it was definitely a penalty, but I didn’t think it would go much further than that.”
Eels forward Ryan Matterson.
“It didn’t make sense to me,” Matterson said.
“At the time I thought it was definitely a penalty, but I didn’t think it would go much further than that.
“It makes you think ‘Where is this game heading?’ ”
Panthers legend questioned Matterson’s decision on Triple M Breakfast with MG, Jess & Pagey program on Wednesday.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” Geyer said.
“That’s peril for Parramatta because they’re losing Niukore, they’re losing Papali’i. They need Matterson on deck. They need to be full-strength.
“He’s on about $600,000-a-year. To miss three games of footy for $4000, I don’t get it and hope there is more to it … They could be 0-3 to start the Eels after three games, who knows, they need every man on deck. The optics of it don’t look really good.”
Matterson said he was stunned that any sanction above an on-field penalty was warranted.
“To be honest, the way Dylan backed in towards me and kept driving his legs, I tried to get his head out,” Matterson said.
“He just kept backpedalling – I’m not going to let him backpedal 100 metres. So I had to stop him. There wasn’t much in it. It was the typical look of a crusher tackle, but there was no pressure involved.
“I was very shocked they said four weeks [if Matterson had gone to the judiciary and be found guilty]. I guess that’s what they are cracking down on.
“To be honest, four weeks for that incident itself is blown way out of [proportion].
“You’ve got to have more consistency. There’s a lot of things that are getting swept under the carpet.”
Asked if it would be difficult watching the Eels begin their 2023 campaign as a spectator, Matterson said: “It’s always hard. I love playing. It’s something I spoke to the club about before I made the decision. Obviously it’s a hard one, but I have personal reasons I need to take into consideration.”
News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.
