Barnett can avoid NRL ban for kick contact
Mitchell Barnett of the Knights is tackled by Aaron Woods and Jacob Liddle of the Tigers AAP Image/Darren Pateman
Newcastle forward Mitchell Barnett can escape NRL suspension for dangerous contact on Wests Tigers halfback Luke Brooks with an early guilty plea.
Barnett was charged with a grade-one offence for the second-half contact on Brooks, after he floored the halfback with an apparent high shot as he made a kick in the dying minutes.
However the 23-year-old will only miss a match if he takes the case to the judiciary and loses.
Meanwhile Penrith forward Leilani Latu has avoided being cited for an apparent shoulder charge on South Sydney halfback Adam Reynolds.
Latu was placed on report for the hit on the No.7 as he kicked the ball in Penrith's 42-14 loss, but the incident was not taken any further by the match review committee.
In the weekend's only other charges, South Sydney's Thomas Burgess faced a fine for tripping Panthers' forward James Tamou while Gold Coast captain Ryan James has pleaded guilty and accepted a monetary fine for a similar offence on St George Illawarra's Joel Thompson.
