Ex-Cowboys player turned lawyer saves the day at Cotter hearing
North Queensland had a successful night at the judiciary, with star forward Reuben Cotter cleared to play finals after having a careless high tackle charge downgraded.
Cotter was sin-binned after the opening tackle of Saturday night’s loss to the Raiders, after collecting retiring veteran Josh Papalii with a high shot.
Reuben Cotter’s high tackle on Josh Papalii. Fox League
From the opening kick-off, Cotter and teammate Coen Hess raced into contact, with Papalii dazed on the floor as he reeled out of the tackle.
Replays showed Cotter’s shoulder had hit Papalii high and he was given his marching orders by on-field referee Nick Pelgrave.
The word “reckless” was used by Pelgrave to describe the tackle.
The NRL match review committee slapped Cotter with a grade two careless high tackle charge, resulting in a one-match ban with an early guilty plea.
The club opted to plead not guilty and in a rollercoaster night, Cotter was found guilty by the judiciary. However, his counsel Tom Hancock then attempted a downgrade, which was successful.
Cotter was at risk of being banned for two matches when he was found guilty.
He will now only have to pay a $1500 fine with the grade one charge.
Cotter’s lawyer tonight, Hancock, has a deeper history in rugby league than many would realise.
A quick google search and a squiz on the club’s website reveals Hancock actually played U20s for the Cowboys in the early-2010s alongside the likes of Jason Taumalolo and Kyle Feldt.
He then had a lengthy QLD Cup career with the Northern Pride and Townsville Blackhawks and actually played with Coen Hess – the man who was used as a major part of Cotter’s defence tonight – during the 2016 season.
A true North Queensland bloke who happens to have a law degree and he put it to good use, getting one of the Cowboys’ best players off the hook.
Tom Hancock playing for Northern Pride. QRL
Hancock had argued the “mitigating factors” in the tackle should make it a grade one after Hess bumped into Cotter before both men reached Papalii.
“Reuben’s trajectory changed quite drastically there,” he said.
North Queensland will face Cronulla at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night.
