LeagueNews.co | Jess Malloy
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo has addressed concerns regarding recent changes to the judiciary system, which grant the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) enhanced powers to charge players for on-field offences.
The Rugby League Players Association (RLPA) and Panthers coach Ivan Cleary expressed significant worries about these amendments, describing the new powers as giving the ARLC "absolute discretion and extraordinary powers" to charge players.
Cleary voiced his unease about a perceived lack of faith in the match review committee, stating it was "disturbing." In response, Abdo urged stakeholders not to overreact, emphasizing, "It's not a matter of intervention, this is an insurance policy that the commission has identified to make sure that the policy as set by the commission is being applied." He clarified that the ARLC would only intervene in "very rare circumstances" to review cases that may have been overlooked by the match review committee or inadequately graded.
He noted that this could lead to either an upward or downward adjustment of a grading, but stressed it would only be applied as an "insurance policy" in exceptional situations.