Judiciary recap: Carrigan suspended for four matches

Read on for full updates from Tuesday night's judiciary hearing for Broncos forward Pat Carrigan.

7.52pm: Carrigan has been suspended for four matches.

7.27pm: The hearing adjourned

7:12pm: Knowles responded by pointing out that Carrigan did not need to join the tackle on Hastings as he was already held by two other Broncos defenders.

7:05pm: Ghabar suggested that the penalty imposed on Carrigan should be no greater than two matches.

"What player McGuire did himself in that tackle compared to what player Carrigan did in the case before you is a higher level. They are not even in the same ball park," he said. "It is carless, but not reckless."  

6.50pm: Ghabar said there was no comparison to the tackle by McGuire on Addo-Carr last season, which forced the Melbourne winger from the field for seven minutes and cost the Dragons forward a five-match ban.

"This was, with respect, at least reckless, and bordered on intentional," Ghabar said of the McGuire tackle. "It was precisely what Mr Annesley talks about in his memorandum - the full weight of player McGuire was on the lower leg."

He said the difference between that tackle and the tackle by player Carrigan was three-fold:

• McGuire lands directly on the foot [of Addo-Carr], it was his full weight unlike player Carrigan, whose weight landed on the ground.
• There was direct force involved and certainly that was the intent of the tackler
• The contribution of fellow Dragons tackler Andrew McCullough was a "positive" in that he pulled Addo-Carr forward and to the side, which allowed McGuire to remove himself from the tackle.  

"That was bought to bear by grabbing at the waist, swinging of the hips and buttocks and landing heavily and directly onto the left lower leg.

"There was a very serious risk of injury in that conduct. In fact it was fortuitous,​​ if not miraculous. that player Addo-Carr was not injured given the level of force that was applied."

6.40pm: Carrigan's legal counsel Nick Ghabar tells the panel that the Broncos forward was guilty of a "low or moderate level of carelessness" due to the involvement of Brisbane team-mates Keenan Palasia and Corey Paix in the tackle.

"Player Carrigan lost his footing and almost has a seated position on the ground, while the two defenders up top have a firm hold," Ghabar says.

Carrigan has hold of Hastings' waist and the other tacklers turned and pushed the Tigers lock over the top of Carrigan with a "significant driving force".

6.28pm: Knowles tells the panel he is not seeking an "eye for an eye" and believes an appropriate suspension for Carrigan would be five or six matches.

6.21pm: NRL legal counsel Patrick Knowles refers to a medical report about the season ending injury sustained by Hastings.

Hastings has been forced to undergo surgery with plates and screws to repair a fractured fibula and surgery for syndesmosis.

"That likely means a minimum of three months recovery and more likely four to five months," Knowles says.

"This is a very serious injury that could impact on player Hastings' career". 

6:12pm: After watching replays of Carrigan's tackle on Hastings, the hearing is shown the tackle by McGuire on Storm winger Josh Addo-Carr in round 10 of the 2021 season.

McGuire pleaded guilty to a grade three dangerous contact charge and was suspended for five matches.

6:07pm: Carrigan has entered a guilty plea.

The panel is told that the main evidence submitted to the hearing will comprise a 2020 memorandum by NRL head of football Graham Annesley warning of the dangers of hip drop tackles and an incident involving Dragons forward Josh McGuire last season. 

6.02pm: The hearing has begun, with Carrigan appearing before a panel comprising of former players Dallas Johnson and Henry Perenara. Judiciary chairman Justice Geoff Bellew is in attendance via video link. Carrigan is represented by his legal counsel, Nick Ghabar.

5.30pm: Broncos forward Patrick Carrigan will front the NRL Judiciary tonight after he was referred for a dangerous contact offence on Jackson Hastings.

Carrigan was reported for an alleged hip-drop tackle on Hastings in the 73rd minute, which resulted in a broken ankle for the Wests Tigers playmaker, and will now plead his case at the judiciary in Sydney on Tuesday night.

Carrigan has entered a guilty plea and front the judiciary from 6.00pm AEST.

Watch the incident of the tackle below.