“Not walking away with the two points, that’s what’s deflating. It was a tough loss, but the boys put in a good effort, and we should be super proud.”
The NRL’s club relationship manager of elite officiating, David Fairleigh, sent a memo to all coaches just last week with a list of rule changes and interpretations, which included stealing the ball.
“Stealing the ball will be determined by the defending player(s) actions,” Fairleigh wrote. “These actions may include striking at the ball, gripping and pulling at the ball or pulling a ball carries arm to dislodge the ball.”
Couchman was playing his first NRL game since rupturing his ACL in round one last year against the Bulldogs.
“That game was one of the highlights of my career, and last year in round one was the lowest point in my career; I’ve never experienced an atmosphere like it,” Couchman said.
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“I’ve had this date circled for a while, when I did it, I knew we were coming to Vegas, so I wanted to get fit and healthy and be playing here.”
Meanwhile, the match review committee charged North Queensland winger Braidon Burns with a grade-two careless high tackle, meaning he misses two games, while Knights skipper Tyson Frizell was fined $1000 for a cannonball tackle on Tom Mikaele, who will now miss six weeks with an MCL.
Crichton escaped any charges for his high shot on Dragons debutant Setu Tu.
