Gus wants a Kenny Cuddle

news.com.auSportNRLPhil Gould’s take on brutal Kenny Edwards hitAUGUST 2, 20176:22PMEel's grub shot let go by refAlex Blairnews.com.auTHE NRL was rocked by a sickening hit on Friday night as Eels star Kenny Edwards put an ugly shoulder into Brisbane winger Jonus Pearson.The Broncos star had already been brought to the ground before Edwards threw his entire weight down onto his opponent’s chest. Pearson had been taken down by a stray hand from Eels star Nathan Brown coming into contact with his face.“Simply, I didn’t think the tackle was complete,” Edwards said of the ugly shoulder. “I didn’t see the high shot Browny put on until afterwards.“I just went in hard like I always do. Unfortunately Browny hit him high, which I didn’t see. I saw the replay and if I could go back I wouldn’t do it again.”Fans erupted in outrage as referees failed to pull the 27-year-old up on his unsportsmanlike conduct. Daily Telegraph columnist Phil Rothfield described the incident as “shocking” and claimed violence was ruining the sport.NRL legend and Channel Nine commentator Phil Gould took the surprising route and defended the Parramatta forward’s conduct, insisting he hadn’t broken a single rule.“Kenny Edwards did not break a rule. He hit him, he hit him to hurt him,” he said on his Six Tackles with Gus podcast. “That’s the competitive nature of the man.“The referee on the field didn’t penalise him. Why? Because he didn’t do anything illegal. The Bunker had a look at it several times, they didn’t caution him or recommend a penalty.“It then went to the Match Review Committee who didn’t find any offence that he caused. He didn’t hit him in the head, he didn’t come down with elbows or knees. He didn’t hit him late while he wasn’t in possession of the ball.”Gould then slammed the NRL for fining Edwards, claiming it was a token fine in order to escape backlash from the media.“Even they couldn’t find a rule he had broken. So, what do they do? They fined him ($1100) for contrary conduct because they don’t want to be criticised by the storm on social media and in the media.”Kenny Edwards copped a $1100 fine for throwing the shoulder down.Kenny Edwards copped a $1100 fine for throwing the shoulder down.Source:TwitterWhen asked if the sudden spike in aggressive shots on players was a sign of the game changing, Gould reassured fans it was all a part of the sport.“It’s been around for 100 years,” he said.“Kenny sometimes has brain explosions. That’s just him. We love his energy he brings to the game,” teammate Manu Ma’u said on Monday.Edwards admitted he regretted the incident which has been labelled a cheap shot. “We don’t want to change the way Kenny plays or the attitude he brings to his game,” Eels centre Michael Jennings said.“He copped a fine, didn’t he? He’s a bit of a tight-ass, so he’s more worried about that than what anyone else is saying to him.” The Eels’ win over the Broncos was their fifth straight, and puts them in a perfect position to qualify for their first finals series since their fairytale run in 2009.It is currently the longest finals drought of any NRL team.Jennings hailed the Eels’ effort to come back from 12 points down to beat the Broncos 28-14, saying their fighting abilities were a must for any team bound for September.“When we were 12 points down, everyone was calm. There was no disbelief,” he said.“Everyone was confident that we could just ride this wave and really weather the storm, we’ll get out over the top of these guys. We hung in there, and took it away.”— with AAPhttp://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/phil-gould-defends-brutal-kenny-edwards-hit/news-story/3162739741ffdead35ef705544ab6df9

"Risati won't be a centre. He will be in the halves for sure. Cant say who will be better out of the 2 since Lorenzo has barely played cup whilst Risati is only playing SG balll for the first time next year. Must see them when they are consistently…"

"I'm not suggesting throwing Lorenzo or any other young player in there now, they aren't ready, my point is they still won't be ready for a start in 2027 either so are we going to sign another 1 year stop gap 6 for 2027?."

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Replies

macybrown August 2, 2017 at 8:40pm

...and Brown didn't hit anyone high either!
Parra fan on The Hill August 2, 2017 at 8:44pm

No man in RL speaks more sense than Gus.
Snakey - Sack Dylan Brown August 2, 2017 at 8:45pm

I bet Gus wants more than a cuddle the dirty kent.
Wizardssleeves official receipts August 2, 2017 at 8:48pm

Raaaays been harping on all week about Kennys hit and even going as far as calling BA a goose the other day for comparing the stomp on Mannah to it . He went as far as saying that on scale Kennys was a 10 and Maguires was about a 1 on the scale of grubbiness.
- Parra fan on The Hill > Wizardssleeves official receipts August 2, 2017 at 8:51pm
  
  True that mate.
  
  I've never before encountered a press "crap on" about a non event where no one was injured. The way the journo's have been crapping on is as if Kenny pulled a trigger and the bullet only just missed Pearson. Some of those journo's really need a spear tackle to knock some sense into them.
- Dave > Wizardssleeves official receipts August 2, 2017 at 8:51pm
  
  Just ask Ray about the galston gorge
- Mudskip > Wizardssleeves official receipts August 2, 2017 at 9:00pm
  
  Ha
  I live In Hornsby heights on the other side
  Trucks stuck are a pain
  Went the long way round a few times,then find out there was
  no truck
  Ya mates a cunt
Wizardssleeves official receipts August 2, 2017 at 8:57pm

Haha , one of my workmates used to call up every few months and " report ' a truck stuck in the Gorge and we'd piss ourselves at him ranting and raving . Now he always checks out the info first .
macybrown August 2, 2017 at 9:19pm

Why would Gus say he'd take it back after watching ' the invisible' high shot. It was clear the guy wasn't affected or concussed anyway. So Kenny completed the tackle and that's it.
So stupid to bring all this up again. Still one things for sure by keeping this alive; every little thing Kenny does will be scrutinised out there. Kenny will have to watch out for it and give them nothing to appease the madding crowd.
BlacJac August 2, 2017 at 9:21pm

It wouldn't of been such a big issue if the media didn't keep going on about it. They complain tht kids are going to imitate the players - well stop replaying the vision & stop talking about it!!! How many times did ch9 replay it on Friday night coverage?!!!