After grabbing referee Gerard Sutton during the Sydney Roosters’ 22–20 victory against Newcastle, Luke Keary was fined $1000.
In the first few minutes of Thursday night’s match, Keary tugged at Sutton’s right arm while trying to pursue Knights center Bradman Best, who broke down the left side.
Before the five-eighth made contact, the referee seemed to come within Keary’s line of sight. The five-eighth then fell into teammate Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.
Sutton remained standing, and as Keary regained his balance, broadcast vision revealed him turning to face the referee.
Keary was charged with grade-one contrary conduct by the match review committee on Friday morning. The charge involves a $1000 fine and an early guilty plea. Keary is taking a $1,500 chance by contesting the charge.
Since Melbourne halfback Jahrome Hughes was given a one-match suspension for pushing Chris Butler during the Storm’s victory over the Warriors, the topic of referee contact has come under more scrutiny this season.
Media pundits disagreed on the decision to ban Hughes, with the Storm strenuously objecting to the charge in a statement.
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