Dom Young slapped with NRL suspension as sickening high shot leaves rival fans fuming

NRL fans have been left divided after the match review committee handed Dominic Young a two week suspension for his sickening high shot on Blake Taafe. The Bulldogs halted a Roosters comeback on Friday night in the torrential rain to win 30-26.

Roosters fans were left fuming with their side as Young became the first player in 2024 to be sent straight off after collecting Taafe high when he rushed out of the line. To make matters worse for the Roosters, Victor Radley was also sent to the sin bin with eight minutes to go for a controversial hip-drop tackle.

And on Saturday morning, Radley was not cited for his hip-drop tackle. However, Young was handed a two week suspension for the ugly shot. It remains to be seen if Young and the Roosters challenge the two week ban. And the NRL world has weighed-in on the two week suspension with many deeming it too soft.

Taafe was left knocked out cold from the ugly tackle and will stand to miss the next game because of the 11-day HIA protocol. Young certainly fended off a number of angry Bulldogs players having realised his high-shot was going to see him spend time on the sideline.

However, Roosters coach Trent Robinson did not agree the challenge was worthy of a straight send off. “If that’s the standard that’s fine, but that’s a new one for me," he said. "I feel like that’s lower than what’s been sent off before. It just feels like we can set a new standard here again.

"We’ve had guys not even go for 10 for less. I feel like that was a bit over the top. There’ll be a lot more send offs in our game, there should be, if that’s the case.” However, many NRL fans did not see it this way. Plenty were left baffled the winger has only received at least a two week ban having carelessly knocked out Taafe. Others feel the Match Review Committee got the punishment just right.

Victor Radley escapes ban for divisive hip-drop incident

One of the biggest talking points in the game was Radley's 10 minutes in the bin. In the 72nd minute, with the scores at 30-20, Stephen Crichton looked to break the line when Connor Watson managed to get hold of his legs. As Crichton attempted to break the tackle, Radley dived across the body and on Crichton. The centre spun around and collapsed under the weight of the tackle.

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NRL greats Cooper Cronk and James Graham felt the sin bin was harsh for Radley. The former Roosters halfback labelled the decision "perplexing", while Graham said it was a "bizarre" call. And Roosters coach Robinson let rip at the decision, which all but ended any chance of a comeback.

“Connor’s the one that tackles him from behind and twists his ankle and then he (Radley) falls on that ankle. How they got to that decision, that’s incredible. That was below par,” Robinson said in a heated post-match press conference. And even Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo called the sin bin call “pretty harsh”.

However, the Match Review Committee has not handed any further sanction to Radley with the forward available to play next week. Unfortunately, the Roosters will be missing James Tedesco after their captain left the game due to a heavy concussion.