Felise Kaufusi has been cleared to play in the Dolphins’ must-win clash against Newcastle where the winner will clinch the last remaining top-eight spot.
Initially offered a two-match ban, Kaufusi will instead pay a $1800 fine after having his dangerous-contact charge reclassified as a grade-one offence at an hour-long judiciary hearing in Sydney on Tuesday night.
Judiciary panellists Tony Puletua and Sean Hampstead took less than 10 minutes to unanimously agree Kaufusi’s late, high hit on Brisbane halfback Adam Reynolds only carried a low risk of injury.
The result is a big boost to the Dolphins’ hopes of both playing finals in only their second NRL season and ending the Knights’ own top-eight hopes at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday.
“It’s a big occasion for us and hopefully this picks up the boys,” Kaufusi said.
“I thought I’d had better luck getting into the Powerball for the lottery (than winning).
“Last time I came down I was quietly confident and I got four weeks. You never know with these things. You can never be comfortable, I definitely wasn’t.
“(But) I knew we had a good case, good counsel and the backing of the club.”
The panel was persuaded by the defence counsel’s case Kaufusi had made only glancing contact with Reynolds’ head and neck during the first half of the Dolphins’ 40-6 win on Saturday night.
While the panel found the shot was late they agreed the brunt of contact had been with Reynolds’ side and Reynolds had the ability to brace for the contact, reducing its severity.
Supported by Dolphins assistant coach Kristian Woolf, Kaufusi sat silently as legal representative Nick Ghabar presented video evidence of what he felt was a similar shot from earlier in the season.
On that occasion, St George Illawarra prop Jack De Belin only received a grade-one charge for hitting Gold Coast playmaker Kieran Foran after he had passed the ball.
The judiciary panel found similarities with that shot and were particularly persuaded by the fact Reynolds’ head was not shaken considerably by Kaufusi’s hit, consistent with a low level of force.
Kaufusi became the fifth player to seek a downgrade at the judiciary this season and the third to do so successfully after Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans and South Sydney’s Richie Kennar.
Representing the NRL, Lachlan Gyles said the “critical consideration” was whether there was a moderate and not low risk of injury presented by the tackle.
He unsuccessfully argued Kaufusi had exacted a moderate amount of force by coming out of the line and accelerating into the high contact.
He said “a player of Kaufusi’s experience, quality and coordination” should have been able to pull out of the contact, which he felt carried a moderate risk of injury given Reynolds left for a head injury assessment.
