Ah, the MRC at it again... all you have to do is look at the gradings, the points and how many weeks players are being suspended for. The whole thing is just such a joke. How does it make any sense? For starters the Dragons player Tyson Frizell is only going to get 2 weeks. For those who didn't watch the game, he did a swinging arm in a high tackle, which smashed the Dogs prop Tim Browne in the face. He was completely knocked out and then after a few minutes he came to. Even then he wasn't able to talk. It was as though you could already see the effects of his new brain damage. It was very disturbing, and even though it was a grade 5 - still only 2 weeks !!!!!!!!

Then there's the Fifita tackle. At the time he didn't even argue with the ref. When he was told it would be put on report he just laughed and said "I know". What's puzzling though, is Andrew Fifita is only grade 3, yet he gets more base points and will miss 4-6 weeks (and it wasn't even as bad as the Dragons high tackle). So different offences give different grading base points and then have different numbers of weeks... not to mention the fact that the MRC is all secretive and doesn't explain how they work it all out. They just say 'here's what we've come up with.... deal with it'

I've been thinking for a while that they need a website, or a section on the NRL website where you can see a database of all NRL players, how many points they have, what their previous charges are, as well as a clear breakdown of what the different offences are, how they are graded and what the resulting suspension will be. They also need to have video examples which clearly show the different gradings. What's more, is we should all know who these people are, that are involved in the committee and dishing out the suspensions. We should also have it seperate from Greenburg if possible and perhaps ex players who might give influence. (though I don't think that would be possible)

Finally, we need to take into account the injuries of the players involved. Eg. the Junior Paulo tackle gets 9 weeks, even though the Manly stood up and played out the game. Then there's the Dragons tackle by Frizell where the guy could have permanent brain damage (and the Dogs lose a player for the rest of the game) - which is 2 weeks......?????? And then there's the fact that we have all these players getting the high gradings, who never get sent off at the time. As we all know, the only way to get sent off these days is for 'Dissent' which is being critical of the refs. Eg. Klemmer and then Sandow last year

Frizell and Fifita facing bans

http://www.nrl.com/frizell-and-fifita-facing-bans/tabid/10874/newsid/85332/default.aspx

Dragons forward Tyson Frizell has been slapped with a grade five careless high tackle charge by the NRL match review committee for his shot on Bulldogs prop Tim Browne during the Red V's 31-6 win over Canterbury on Sunday.

Frizell is facing two weeks on the sidelines, with the charge attracting a base penalty of 275 points, reduced to 200 with an early guilty plea.

Sharks prop Andrew Fifita is also facing significant time out of the game, charged with a grade three dangerous throw on Knights hooker Adam Clydsdale. Should Fifita take the early plea, he'll miss four weeks, but an unsuccessful challenge will see the NSW and Australia international miss six weeks of action.

Props Sam Moa and Jarrod Wallace were charged from Friday night's Broncos-Roosters clash. Both would have escaped suspension with an early plea if not for each player's carryover points, with the pair each looking at missing a week.

Eels duo Nathan Peats and Manu Ma'u were both charged for their challenge on Titans second-rower Dave Taylor, but neither will be suspended with an early guilty plea. From the same game, Gold Coast prop Eddy Pettybourne looks set to miss one week for a careless high tackle on Darcy Lussick.

Warriors pair Ryan Hoffman and Sam Lisone (both grade one dangerous throw) will also be free to play should they enter the early plea, likewise Sea Eagles forward Jamie Buhrer, who was cited for a dangerous throw on Panthers prop Nigel Plum.