Tino Fa'asuamaleaui, Dolphins tough nut cop bans for ugly hits as NRL crackdown continues
Updated . First published
The Titans and Dolphins each lost a player in the opening half of their clash at Cbus Super Stadium as the NRL's promised crackdown on high contact continues.
The Dolphins secured their first win of the season, defeating the Titans 36-10 on Saturday evening, as a pair of sin bins caused chaos early.
Titans skipper Tino Fa'asuamaleaui was given his marching orders for a high shot on Felise Kaufusi in the opening set of the match.
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Titans captain Tino Fa'asuamaleaui was sent to the sin bin for a high shot on Dolphins forward Felise Kaufusi. Fox Sports
In the 30th minute, a swinging arm from Ray Stone landed the Dolphins lock in the bin.
On Sunday morning, the NRL's match review committee dealt Fa'asuamaleaui and Stone grade two careless high tackle charges.
Both players will miss one game with an early guilty plea, but their suspensions will extend to two weeks if they fight the charges at the judiciary and lose.
Fa'asuamaleaui initially escaped sanction before the Bunker got in the ear of referee Wyatt Raymond, and the Gold Coast captain was given his marching orders.
Stone was ruled to have made direct contact with moderate force to Brock Gray's head.
With Fa'asuamaleaui off the field, the Dolphins looked threatening before Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow broke through in the ninth minute.
In the lead-up, Jamayne Isaako ran through a gap before brushing off a poor cover tackle from AJ Brimson. He then found Tabuai-Fidow on his inside who finished the job.
The Dolphins soon had back-to-back tries, with Daniel Saifiti punching himself over the try line from close range.
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Three Titans stars attempted to bring the big front-rower down ahead of the line but his power proved to be too strong as he dragged Jaylen De Groot with him.
Ray Stone was sent to the sin bin for this high shot on Beau Fermor. FOX Sports
Earlier this week, the NRL sent an email to clubs regarding high contact in round four and the resulting lack of sin bins.
In the first few games of the round, Hudson Young (Raiders) and Reece Robson (Cowboys) were sent to the sin bin for similar incidents.
To start the second half on Saturday evening, Jaimin Jolliffe was lucky to avoid the sin bin after he was placed on report for a high shoulder charge that resembled Fa'asuamaleaui's act.
Max Plath and Connelly Lemuelu added four-pointers to the Dolphins' score before the Titans finally hit the scoreboard in the 65th minute.
Phillip Sami and AJ Brimson crossed, but despite boasting huge attacking power, Gold Coast could not get into gear.
The Dolphins iced the result with a try to Isaako, who finished the match with 20 points to his name. This included five conversions and three penalty goals to the winger.
