Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo issued a telling response after an alleged hip drop tackle on backrower Jacob Preston went unpunished a year after his contentious yellow bin.
Preston was left holding his ankle in the first half after Rabbitohs player Jack Wighton dragged him down and clung to his back.
The former Raiders five-eighth evaded punishment because Wighton did not land on Preston’s legs.
Cameron Ciraldo was reminded in the post-match press conference of the controversy that erupted during the same Easter fixture in 2023, when Preston was sent off for a similar tackle.
The NRL world was divided on whether Preston’s effort on Rabbitohs flier Izack Thompson was indeed a hip drop, but he escaped punishment despite being marched off the field.
“Yeah, I remember that well. “I remember it,” Ciraldo remarked.
When asked what he thought of Wighton’s tackle, Ciraldo bit his tongue, but his reaction was evident after he rolled his eyes many times.
“I honestly didn’t see it that closely,” Ciraldo stated with a big sigh.
“No, I didn’t see it that closely.”
Meanwhile, Dogs winger Kurtis Morrin was punished to the sin bin for an ugly lifting tackle that caused Rabbitohs captain Cameron Murray to crash on his shoulder.
Ciraldo was satisfied that referee Gerard Sutton made the correct call, but he did feel that the opposing player should have also been marched.
“Yeah it was probably fair, Kurtis tackles low and he just didn’t get it quite right there,” he added.
“There was no malice in anything, but that’s how it is. Probably got what it deserved, but it would have been wonderful to have one of them on the other end.”
Another problematic moment in this match was Latrell Mitchell colliding with flyer Josh Addo-Carr, knocking him out.
The Rabbitohs fullback’s hip collided with Addo-Carr’s head, but he avoided punishment despite being brought into contact on the stroke of halftime.
Addo-Carr will now miss Round 5 and be out for 11 days due to the NRL’s concussion rules.
“I haven’t seen it too closely, but we lost him for the rest of the game, probably lose him for next week now so not ideal,” he remarked.
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