A Collision That Sparked a Conversation
Eels winger Bailey Simonsson has made it clear that there are “no hard feelings” between him and Wests Tigers young gun Luke Laulilii following a season-ending tackle during a match on Easter Monday. The incident occurred in the second half of Parramatta’s golden-point 22-20 loss, which left Simonsson with a dislocated ankle and sidelined for the rest of the year.
During a mid-air contest, Laulilii dragged his opposing winger down to the ground, resulting in Simonsson landing awkwardly on his lower leg. The injury was so severe that Simonsson had to be stretchered off the field, marking a significant blow for the Eels.
Peter Gough, the on-field referee, sin-binned Laulilii as a result of the tackle. Laulilii has since been hit with a one-game suspension for dangerous contact. However, the man who was injured didn’t see an issue with the tackle.
“It’s the game we play, risk comes with it,” Simonsson told The Sydney Morning Herald.
“No bad feelings at all, it’s an accident. Shit happens in footy. I reached out to a couple of the boys I know at the Tigers to make sure he didn’t feel bad. I didn’t want him to feel like it’s his fault, it’s an accident … I didn’t see it as foul play, it’s just one of those things. It could easily be me in his position on the other side of the ball. No hard feelings. It is what it is.”
At the time, on-field referee Gough was heard alerting the Bunker that Simonsson’s injury “looked pretty bad” while Mitchell Moses pleaded his case. Simonsson was in visible agony as he laid on the turf with his foot still facing outward, but has since posted on social media and appears in good spirits.
A String of Injuries for the Eels
Simonsson’s injury is the latest in a poor run for the Eels, who have already lost forward J’maine Hopgood for the season as a result of a hip-drop tackle from Ryan Couchman. Gun fullback Isaiah Iongi is also sidelined after a similar incident involving Mitch Kenny.
“They’ve had some bad luck to start the season,” Michael Ennis said on Fox League.
Eels coach Jason Ryles admitted the run of injuries was proving difficult, but was eager to give some fresh talent an opportunity in the blue and gold jumper.
“Those contests happen every week, same with the hip drops,” Ryles continued.
“The players don’t mean to do it, we understand that – but there are reasons why those actions are outlined, because of what we are going through now. It is what we sign up for each week. We just have to crack on. For me, as disappointing as it is, it is another opportunity for next player in.”
Laulilii Faces Consequences
As for Laulilii, who is off to the Perth Bears next year, he had to contend with a chorus of boos from the CommBank Stadium crowd and will now miss his side’s round six game. Tigers coach Benji Marshall did not agree with the call.
“If he didn’t get injured, would it have been the same result? I didn’t agree but whatever, we just had to deal with it.”
Laulilii risks a two-match ban if he fights the charge at the judiciary and loses.
