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Josh Jackson is free to play in the Bulldogs' preliminary final against the Panthers, not charged by the match review committee for a chicken wing tackle.
Bulldogs forward Josh Jackson has escaped further scrutiny for a chicken wing tackle on Manly prop Josh Starling, prompting a fracas that led to Starling being sin-binned for throwing a punch.

The 24th-minute tackle, described by Manly coach Geoff Toovey after the game as an "arm bar", threatened to rub Jackson out of his side's preliminary final against Penrith; his 67 carry-over points from a tripping charge earlier in the year meaning even a grade one charge for unnecessary pressure and an early plea would have resulted in at least one match on the sidelines.

Starling took great exception to the position he was placed in, throwing the football at Jackson's head after the on-field referees penalised the Canterbury back-rower, sparking a push and shove in which Starling was sin-binned under the NRL's 'no punch' policy.

Despite Jackson being placed on report for the tackle, the NRL's Match Review Committee deemed it not worthy of further sanction.

This comes in contrast to similar tackles in recent weeks that have seen Rooster Aidan Guerra and Rabbitoh Ben Te'o rubbed out for one and four weeks, respectively.

Bulldogs coach Des Hasler said after the game he did not expect Jackson to have a case to answer.

In a statement, the Match Review Committee (MRC) said the tackle did not take Starling's arm outside its normal range of movement.

"As a result, no charges were laid, in line with the judiciary code," the MRC said.

The Committee said it also looked at several other incidents from the weekend, including a tackle from Bulldogs hooker Michael Ennis on Manly half Daly Cherry-Evans, but determined none warranted a charge.
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