Penrith Panthers and New Zealand international back-rower Scott Sorensen has been dealt an extra blow after his appeal to have a grade two shoulder charge charge downgraded at the NRL Judiciary was unsuccessful.
Sorensen will now have to serve a three-match suspension following his tackle on Nathan Brown during the round eight clash against Manly, according to a Penrith Panthers press release on Tuesday night.
Scott Sorensen will now miss three games instead of two after a failed appeal at the NRL judiciary.
The incident occurred in the 33rd minute of the match, with Manly prop forward Brown charging hard off the back fence, after a kick restart, directly into the path of the waiting Sorensen.
The Panthers forward attempted to stop Brown’s momentum with a shoulder charge, but the impact sent the Sea Eagles forward to the ground, and Sorensen was penalised and sin-binned by referee Belinda Sharpe.
While it was Sorensen’s first offence in a rolling 12-month period, shoulder charges are now heavily punished by the NRL’s judiciary code.
If Sorensen had pleaded guilty, he would have accepted a two-match suspension with an early guilty plea.
However, the 32-year-old chose to challenge the charge in light of the recent backlash over the harsh, overuse of the sin-bin, hoping to get it downgraded to avoid suspension altogether and instead face just a fine.
In a hearing that lasted less than 90 minutes, the NRL judiciary panel upheld the grade two charge, meaning Sorensen’s suspension was extended to three games.
As a result, the forward will miss Penrith’s Magic Round clash against the Broncos, as well as upcoming matches against the Cowboys and Knights.
Sorensen is expected to return in round 13 when the Panthers face the Parramatta Eels.
The shoulder charge was one of several controversial moments in a fiery first half at CommBank Stadium.
Prior to Sorensen’s sin-binning, Penrith teammate Dylan Edwards was also put on report for a trip on Manly’s Tommy Talau.
Edwards later accepted a $750 fine after pleading guilty to the offence.
In the heat of the action Fox League commentator Andrew Voss didn’t hold back giving his two cents.
“Unpopular opinion here, [but] I love that collision,” he said.
This was backed up by NRL legend Kevin Walters who said: “That’s what the fans come to see.”
However, during the half-time break, Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga saw the hit differently.
“Unfortunately Sorensen got it wrong … and deserved 10 minutes in the bin,” he said.
Rugby league immortal Andrew Johns heavily criticised the decision, begging the NRL to answer the questions of what is Sorensen is supposed to do in that situation, when 100kg man is running directly at you, at full speed, form the back fence.
“We need to know what [Sorensen and others] can do. If he puts his arms out, to make a conventional tackle, his head is going to be exposed, and he’ll probably dislocate his shoulders,” Johns exclaimed on The Sunday Footy Show.
“They want players to defend low, but if Scott Sorensen goes low on Nathan Brown he’s gonna knock himself out as cold as a spud.”
“If he wraps his arms, he will dislocate his shoulder – he has to brace and get himself into space.”
“I have no idea what the NRL want this tackle to be and they have to come out tomorrow and explain what tackle they want in this situation,” he said.
The Panthers face an uphill climb without their experienced pack leader, Sorensen, adding to their struggles this season, which see’s the four-peat champions sitting last on the NRL table.