Taylan May should have been charged over Reece Walsh clash: NRL

Taylan May should have been charged for the tackle that has sidelined Brisbane fullback Reece Walsh with a facial fracture, NRL football boss Graham Annesley says.

In the opening minutes of Penrith’s 34-12 win on Thursday, May ran out of the defensive line and hit Walsh just after the Broncos No.1 passed the ball, with the pair clashing heads.

Walsh fell to the turf bleeding from his face and, despite passing his head injury assessment, was unable to continue playing.

Broncos coach Kevin Walters was incensed that the NRL’s match review committee (MRC) opted not to charge May for the hit, with Walsh expected to miss at least a month injured.

The hit drew comparisons to a clash from the 2022 season, when Cronulla forward Dale Finucane clashed heads with ball-runner Stephen Crichton and received a two-game ban.

MRC chairman Luke Patten on Friday defended the decision not to charge May.

Annesley said the NRL’s view differed, with the organisation less concerned about the contact made by May and more with the level of risk associated with the shot.

The NRL wrote to clubs in April last year warning that players jamming in and running out of the defensive line risked being charged should their hits go wrong.

“There is an obligation on all defenders to ensure that they play the game with due regard to the safety of other players,” Annesley said.

“This particular type of action of coming up and in at speed will often go wrong.

“It doesn’t really matter whether it’s shoulder to head, whether it’s arm to head or whether it’s head to head - it’s the way a player approaches the tackle, rather than the outcome.

“No one’s trying to hurt anybody, but they’re taking an additional level of risk by coming in at high velocity. Often the contact happens after the ball is passed.

“On that basis, we believe it should have resulted in a charge.”

Annesley stopped short of recommending a grading for the charge and said he would not have been displeased had referee Gerard Sutton sent May to the sin bin.

“We haven’t specifically turned our mind to (the possible grading of the charge) because that is the role of the match review committee,” he said.

“We were satisfied that there was action on the field. If that action had taken an extra step, we would’ve been satisfied with that as well.”

Annesley stood by the controversial obstruction call that denied Manly a potential try during Sunday’s 28-24 loss to Parramatta, saying the Sea Eagles’ Jake Trbojevic had obstructed defender Luca Moretti.

Trbojevic stopped in the defensive line, opening a gap for his brother Tom to break away and set up Tolu Koula for a try.

Annesley rejected suggestions Moretti had made insufficient attempt to bypass the lead runner and make a tackle.

“The Parramatta player had no option to avoid the contact because Jake had stopped right in his path,” he said.