Sea Eagles CEO slams judiciary system

(AAP) Manly chief executive Grant Mayer has called on rugby league to "grow up" in the face of an administrative bungle which threatens to rub Steve Matai out of this weekend's final round of the NRL.

Matai has been charged `twice' by the NRL match review committee for a careless high
tackle in Monday night's 28-10 win over Gold Coast, a victory which gave the Sea
Eagles the upper hand in the race for the minor premiership.
The first charge came through with only one prior offence, which would have allowed
Matai to escape suspension with an early guilty plea.
But a revised charge sheet issued two hours later by the NRL added a second prior
offence, which saw Matai's points penalty rise enough to trigger a one-match ban.
The `forgotten' offence was the two-match ban Matai copped from the Rugby League
International Federation after he was sent off for a high shot on Australian centre
Mark Gasnier in last year's end of season trans-Tasman Test.
Matai missed two pre-season trials as a result of the ban, but it now threatens to
haunt the Sea Eagles for a third game.
"The murkiness around the two systems is certainly challenging to us," Mayer said.
"The oversight happened in the first place because there's no direct correlation
between the NRL and the international federation.
"It's a clear case that our game has got to grow up and get bigger than this.
"The fact that there's such murkiness around the judiciary system confirms to me
more than ever that our game's got to be under one banner.
"At this time of year, one week out from the finals, the only one suffering from
this is the Sea Eagles based on a charge that happened in October 2007."
The Sea Eagles spent Tuesday in meetings with club board member and lawyer Geoff
Bellew as they sought an avenue for appeal.
Manly are level on 36 competition points with Melbourne heading into the final
round, but are ahead on the ladder thanks to an eight point lead in points
differential.
It means the battle for the minor premiership will come down to the last game of the
regular season, when Manly travel to Penrith and the Storm host South Sydney.
Mayer claimed the fact the club had no representation when Matai was charged after
last year's Test meant the Sea Eagles should not continue to be punished for the
offence.
NRL match review committee chairman Greg McCallum issued the Test charge, but rather
than giving it a number grading, it was presented as a mid-range careless high
tackle.
Asked for his recommendation, McCallum told the international hearing he believed a
three-match ban was sufficient. The judiciary eventually settled for a two game ban.
"There was no charge sheet associated with it and there was no recourse really for
the club," Mayer said.
"We were prepared to accept the charge for Steve from last night's game, and we took
the early plea, we lodged that under the initial charge.
"Because of the administration error, that changes everything.
"We accept the charge, our concern is around the loading, in particular the second
game being the Test match.
"We're going for the minor premiership.
"We're now going to be potentially without a player, one of our biggest attacking
weapons in Steve Matai may not be there.
"We're going to fight this all the way to the end to make sure that the lack of
clarity is cleared up."
The issue is unlikely to find it's way to the NRL judiciary on Wednesday night, but
it will already be a busy night at NRL headquarters with Wade McKinnon and Matt
Hilder to appear on separate spitting charges.
Warriors fullback McKinnon is accused of spitting at touch judge Brett Suttor while
Hilder was charged with spitting on Melbourne winger Anthony Quinn.