Phoenix Crossland cops four-game ban for Nathan Cleary tackle

Newcastle Knights hooker Phoenix Crossland has been handed a four-game suspension by the NRL judiciary for a tackle that resulted in Penrith's Nathan Cleary suffering a broken leg.

Crossland pleaded guilty to the dangerous contact charge and appeared before the judiciary to determine his fate. The ban will cause him to miss this Sunday's NRL grand final and also rule him out of New Zealand's three World Cup pool games.

Tackle and Injury

Crossland was sent off in the 36th minute of Newcastle's preliminary final win over the Panthers for a hip drop tackle on Cleary, which left the Penrith star with a compound fracture and a dislocated ankle.

Court Proceedings

During the hearing, Crossland's representative, barrister James McLeod, argued for a two or three-week ban, citing his client's clean record and stating that Crossland had never before been sent off. Crossland himself admitted to getting the execution of the tackle wrong but maintained he "wasn't trying to hurt anyone".

The NRL, however, argued for a four-game suspension, stating that Crossland's tackle failed to exercise a proper duty of care and did not show enough caution towards Cleary, despite being accidental.

Crossland's Remorse

Crossland expressed deep remorse for Cleary's injury, revealing that he had made a remorseful call to Nathan Cleary after the incident.

"I called him yesterday. It was obviously a tough phone call," Crossland said.

"I reached out to his dad [Panthers coach Ivan Cleary] as well."

"Nathan was great, he said not to worry about and he understood it was an accident."

"He was such a gentlemen, he told me to stop saying sorry."

"He's my favourite player in the game by a mile. He's the best player in the game and I look up to him."

Impact and Future

Crossland described the incident and its fallout as a low point in his life, adding that it's "killing me, it's been the worst couple of days of my life".

The suspension could pave the way for 19-year-old Diesel Hagan to make his NRL debut in the grand final, a feat that has not occurred in 90 years.