FIGHTING FOR FINALS
FLETCHER APPEALS THREE-GAME SENTENCE
JOSH Fletcher will fight for his grand final spot at a special judiciary appeal hearing tonight.
Fletcher’s chance to captain Teachers West in a third-straight grand final hangs by a thread after he was handed a three-game suspension by the Townsville and Districts Rugby Union judiciary last week.
The fly-half was cited by rival club Brothers for a tackle on halfback Dexter Anderson in the major semi-final.
The tackle put Anderson in hospital with a broken collarbone and was deemed to be dangerous contact by the judiciary.
Fletcher was clearly upset that he had caused the injury to Anderson, but was adamant the injury was not intentional.
“I tried to reach out to him on the Saturday night,” Fletcher said.
“I don’t want to see anyone hurt like that. We play a physical sport and injuries do happen in rugby. I wish him a speedy recovery and hopefully he is able to get back on the field soon. There was absolutely no intention to hurt him.”
Teachers West has appealed against the initial sentence of three weeks. The appeal is expected to be heard by a special Queensland Rugby Union judiciary panel via video link tonight.
It is understood there was no penalty during the game, but Brothers cited the incident after fulltime.
Fletcher said the suspension had thrown a spanner in the works for the Bulldogs, who will aim to win a sixth TDRU premiership in the past seven years when they meet North Ward in Saturday’s grand final.
“It is very disappointing,” Fletcher said. “I would be pretty gutted if I don’t get to play in the grand final.
“That is what you spend your whole year training and playing for. All the work you put in over the year goes towards that goal of playing in a grand final.”
TDRU president Gary Lewis confirmed the appeal would be heard early this week, and said it was a rarity for the competition.
“There is a whole process in Rugby Australia’s system, so it is not unique to us,” Lewis said.
“How often we use the appeals system, I would suggest in my eight or nine years with the TDRU, I think this is the second time I have seen a player go to appeal.
“It will definitely add a bit of intrigue to grand final week.”