LeagueNews.co | Cooper McEnroe
The Melbourne Storm have reluctantly accepted Jahrome Hughes' one-game ban for accidentally making contact with a referee during a recent match.
This decision comes after the team's unsuccessful judiciary hearing last year, which still lingers in their minds.
Despite the consensus that Hughes did nothing wrong, the Storm decided not to challenge the ban.
They were swayed by the memories of their previous judiciary effort and the potential return of Cameron Munster to help offset Hughes' absence.
NRL premiership winner Michael Ennis criticized the grade 2 contrary conduct charge against Hughes, calling it "absolute stupidity." He argued that Hughes was simply doing his job by trying to stop Rocco Berry from scoring a try.
A similar incident occurred on Friday night involving Bulldogs player Viliame Kikau, who was denied a try due to a tackle obstruction.
However, Hughes will now miss the upcoming game against the Knights as a result of the ban.
In a statement, the Storm expressed their support for protecting referees but maintained that Hughes' contact with the referee was accidental.
They believe the grading of the incident was too harsh, considering Hughes was focused on making a crucial tackle rather than the referee's movements.