Ennis cleared of stomping in Origin - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Ennis cleared of stomping in Origin

Wayne Heming 26/05/2011 02:36:46 PM Comments (0)

Canterbury hooker Michael Ennis has been cleared of stomping on Queensland player Cooper Cronk in the first half of Wednesday night's State of Origin clash.

Video footage of an incident late in the first half shows Ennis stepping on Cronk's leg after the Queensland utility had tackled NSW forward Trent Merrin.

While match review committee chairman Greg McCallum said there was no doubt Ennis had "deliberately" put his foot on Cronk's leg, there was absolutely no evidence to support claims he had stomped on him.

"If it was stomping, we'd be talking about the possibility of a heavy suspension," McCallum told AAP shortly after reviewing the 36th-minute incident.

McCallum, a former top flight referee, said Ennis had put his foot on Cronk's lower leg and lost his balance, making the incident look worse than it probably was.

"Cronk didn't react, there was no sign of any injury and he got to his feet and went back into the next play.

"It was one of those incidents. It was a niggling incident by Ennis, designed to try and get some reaction."

McCallum said Ennis's action warranted a penalty but had gone unnoticed on the field.

The game ended on a sour note with players from both sides pushing and shoving each other.

The decision means Ennis is free to play for the Bulldogs against the Titans in the second game of Friday night's NRL double header at Suncorp Stadium.

Brought to you by AAP AAP © 2024 AAP

0 Comments about this article

Post a comment about this article

Please sign in to leave a comment.
Becoming a member is free and easy, sign up here.

« All sports news