The Dragons flyer is facing months on the sidelines after the brutal scenes.
Manly forward Toff Sipley could face a lengthy ban after being sent straight to the NRL judiciary over a bizarre hip-drop incident on Mat Feagai, that’s set to sideline the Dragons flyer for up to three months. Sipley was sent to the sin bin for the tackle on Feagai during the second half of the Dragons’ dramatic 20-18 victory over Manly at 4 Pines Park, which consigned the Sea Eagles to a third-straight defeat.
The incident sparked confusion at the time, with many believing Manly’s Siosiua Taukeiaho had been penalised for a high tackle on Feagai. However, it was Sipley that was given his marching orders after replays showed the Manly forward’s feet come from the ground in the tackle, before his upper body landed on the foot of the Dragons winger.
Feagai was left in agony before being escorted from the field. And Sipley has subsequently been slapped with a dangerous contact charge that has not received a grading due to the unique nature of the incident.
Feagai was left in agony before being escorted from the field. And Sipley has subsequently been slapped with a dangerous contact charge that has not received a grading due to the unique nature of the incident.
Feagai left the ground on crutches after the game and it was revealed that he’s set to undergo surgery on Saturday after suffering a broken ankle and a syndesmosis injury from the incident. Feagai is now set to be sidelined for between 2-3 months in a brutal blow for the 24-year-old, who was only just brought into the starting side for the Manly game to replace injured teammate Christian Tuipulotu (hamstring).
Debate rages around NRL world over sin bin incident
Making the incident even more bizarre was the fact Sipley copped an accidental shoulder to the head from Feagai while attempting to make the tackle, and was subsequently forced to undergo a head injury assessment (HIA), as well as spending time in the bin. Sipley ultimately passed the HIA and was cleared to return but Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans argued that it contributed to the hip-drop tackle.
I will just mention on that, I think he may have got concussed from the elbow and lost his legs a bit,” Cherry-Evans said after the game. “I think it looked pretty accidental. Hopefully they can see that element of it.” While DCE was wrong in suggesting Sipley might have been concussed – considering he passed the HIA – plenty of fans questioned whether it deserved a sin bin as debate erupted about the incident on social media.
Dragons frustrated over confusion around 18th man
Further controversy and confusion reigned when the Dragons were briefly left with just 12 players after Feagai left the field. The visitors resumed with a man down before they were allowed to activate their 18th man Sione Finau, due to the fact they lost Feagai through an act of foul play from the opposition.
“I was upset because we had a player that I thought at the time was hit in the head, but it was a hip-drop,” Dragons coach Shane Flanagan said post-game after admitting it was a “frustrating” situation. “We started to play again with 12 men, so we got penalised.
“It was a tricky one, and I know there was a lot going on down on the sideline. We messed it up, we dropped the ball, but we shouldn’t have started playing with 12 men. That was frustrating to me.”
Finau is now likely to come onto the wing in place of Feagai for the Dragons’ traditional ANZAC Day clash with the Roosters next weekend, with Tuipulotu also out for an extended period with his hamstring injury. Thursday night’s win was the second in a row for Flanagan’s men, who have cemented their spot in the top eight after improving their record to 3-3 for the season.
The Dragons will also be without forward Hamish Stewart (concussion) after he was one of several players unable to finish the game. Manly also lost Jake Trbojevic to concussion inside the opening wight minutes, meaning he won’t play against the Panthers next week. Anthony Seibold’s Sea Eagles also have injury concerns around Nathan Brown (shoulder) and outside back Tommy Talau (leg), who were both forced off before the end of the game.
