NRL leaders Cronulla Sharks were denied victory for the first time since March when they had to settle for a draw against Gold Coast Titans.
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Cronulla’s minor premiership ambitions could be thrown in disarray with star James Maloney facing a three-game ban for a risky tackle in Monday’s 18-18 draw with Gold Coast.
He grabbed Hurrell around the lower leg, putting his weight on the back of the Titan’s calf to force him to the ground.
Valentine Holmes took a great pass from Ben Barba to score the opening try after seven minutes, with Maloney converting and adding a penalty for the visitors.
The grade two charge carries a 250-point base penalty, however a non-similar offence for Maloney in the past two years bumped up the charge to 300 points.
“I actually started getting anxious for him, obviously knowing him”, Maloney told Triple M NRL.
An upset Hurrell stayed down, allowing the bunker to review the 88th-minute incident, however the tackle went unpenalised.
Meanwhile, Canterbury playmaker Josh Reynolds has avoided suspension after taking the early guilty plea on a tripping charge.
“I actually thought “aww mate I hope he hasn’t done anything”.
Cronulla five-eighth James Maloney could miss the big clash against the Canberra Raiders. He comes over to me afterwards and goes, “They didn’t give me a penalty”.
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The Sharks’ final four games are against St George Illawarra (away), South Sydney (away), the Sydney Roosters (home) and Melbourne (away).
