Reviewers clear Wests Tigers duo
Gareth Ellis and Simon Dwyer are free to play in Friday night's semi-final against Canberra after the NRL match review committee concluded the Wests Tigers duo had no cases to answer for.
Ellis and Dwyer were both in danger of attracting high tackle charges following the Tigers' 19-15 loss to the Sydney Roosters on Saturday night.
English international Ellis was put on report for a high tackle on Rosters playmaker Todd Carney, while Dwyer caught Jared Waerea-Hargreaves on the chin with a monumental hit which preceded Braith Anasta's frantic last-second field goal that sent the game into extra time.
Match review committee chairman Greg McCallum said Ellis' incident was deemed to be minor, while Dwyer's tackle was not careless and therefore he also had no case to answer.
"With shoulder tackles like that we have to determine whether the contact has been careless and it's clear that he sets himself front on with the player," McCallum said.
"(Waerea-Hargreaves) lowers his body to try and bump him off and the collision between them was body contact and some contact with the head but we didn't think it warranted being charged."
Five players were charged following the weekend's opening round of finals, but they will have no effect on this week's semi-finals.
Penrith duo Masada Iosefa and Tim Grant will both be available to take on the Sydney Roosters on Saturday night provided they take the early plea on dangerous contact and high tackle charges respectively.
The same situation applies to Manly pair Matt Ballin and Anthony Watmough, who were both charged as the Sea Eagles bowed out from the finals with a 28-0 loss to St George Illawarra on Sunday.
Ballin copped a grade one dangerous contact charge for his late hit on Dragons kicker Jamie Soward, while Watmough was picked up for an unnecessary use of the knee in a late flop on Ben Hornby.
Warriors halfback Brett Seymour will miss the club's opening trial game of 2011 if he pleads guilty to a striking charge, but risks a two-game ban if he unsuccessfully challenges it.
Canberra's Joe Picker was penalised in his team's win over Penrith on Saturday for attacking the legs of Panthers' halfback Luke Walsh while he was in the motion of kicking, but was not charged.
McCallum said the match review committee has been taking this charge seriously all year because of the potentially serious ramifications, but on this occasion decided that Picker's contact was accidental.
McCallum said the Raiders second rower was aiming at Walsh's waist but when the No.7 jumped up for his kick, Picker accidentally came into contact with his legs.
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