HAMILTON president Lesa Mason has called for more consistency from referees after the Hawks had a second player suspended for the Hunter Rugby grand final against Merewether at No.2 Sportsground on Saturday.
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Breakaway Lachlan Summers was suspended for four games by the judiciary on Tuesday night after he was being found guilty of a lifting tackle in the Hawks' 59-24 win over Wanderers in the preliminary final.
Fly-half Paul Dan picked up his third yellow card in the same match which triggered a one-game suspension.
The Hawks attempted to have the suspension overturned but were unsuccessful. Under Rugby Australia disciplinary guidelines yellow cards can only be expunged in the case of mistaken identity.
Summers was given a straight red card for a tackle on Wanderers centre Dillon Rowney.
The Hawks argued at the judiciary that Hamilton centre Angus Brown had contributed to the tipping motion.
However, the judiciary ruled that Rowney landed on his head and the tackle could have been "catastrophic".
The penalty was reduced from six matches to four, but that was little consolation.
"Lachy has played all his rugby career with the Hawks and that was his first time in front of the judiciary," Mason said. "He had had one yellow card in juniors prior to this season."
Nick Breen will replace Summers on the side of the scrum. Billy Clay is the new fly-half.
"We have to focus on the job at hand now," Mason said. "We were hoping that Lachly would be there, but [coach] Marty Berry had plan B in the back of his head.
'We will now put all our energy into training on Thursday night and hopefully winning premiership number six in first grade. Lachy and Paul will still be valuable contributors to the team and be around on Saturday.
"We have faced a bit of adversity this season. We have handled it well. As a group we will bind together."
Mason pointed out that there had been a steep increase in the amount of cards being issued during the finals series with an average of five per first grade game.
"I don't know if there is much consistency in refereeing," Mason said. "It's heart breaking. There is no consistency. They are too quick to go to the pocket.
"Grand finals don't come easily. It is an absolute honour to play in one. And to have that taken away in a system that is in other people's hands is hard to take."
James Gardiner
James Gardiner, chief football and rugby writer at the Newcastle Herald.
James Gardiner, chief football and rugby writer at the Newcastle Herald.
