New South Wales captain Paul Gallen believes Queensland counterpart Sam Thaiday should be enjoying a lengthy stint on the sidelines.
Gallen was spear tackled by Thaiday in Game II of the State of Origin series, which saw the Queensland forward charged with a grade-two dangerous throw.
That crime saw Thaiday handed a two game suspension, courtesy of an early guilty plea. But it’s not enough for Gallen, who needed treatment on his neck following his involvement in the dangerous tackle.
“The fact he got two weeks for that — I think he’s very lucky,” Gallen told Sky Sports Radio’s Big Sports Breakfast.
NSW skipper Paul Gallen has denied claims the Blues blamed referees for their Origin loss. (AAP) Source: AAP
“For me that’s the definition of a spear tackle. It’s called a dangerous throw these days but I was in a deadset spear position, I was vertically upside down.
“Thankfully I came out of it okay and I’m not hurt because you don’t have to look too far back to see those things go wrong.”
A slightly higher charge would have seen Thaiday facing over a month on the sidelines, which Gallen feels is more appropriate, particularly given his Cronulla teammate Wade Graham was denied a debut Origin jersey for a relatively minor offence in comparison.
“I think it depends on who it is done on, I really do,” Gallen said.
